m^^mml 


BRIEF   COURSE   SERIES    IN    EDUCATION 

THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF 
CHILDHOOD 


BY 
NAOMI    NORSWORTHY,   Ph.D. 

FORMERLY   ASSOCIATE   PROFESSOR   OF   EDUCATIONAL   PSYCHOLOGY 
TEACHERS   COLLEGE,    COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY 

AND 

MARY   THEODORA  WHITLEY,   Ph.D. 

ASSISTANT   PROFESSOR   OF   EDUCATION 
TEACHERS   COLLEGE,    COLUMBIA   UNIVERSITY 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

1918 

All  rights  reserved 


^^^  V 
\^^ 


Copyright,  1918, 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  August,  19x8. 


Notfaoolr  ?Prr«» 

J.  8.  Cuahing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


PREFATORY  NOTE 

The  first  rough  draft  of  part  of  this  book  was  prepared  by 
Professor  Norsworthy  in  19 13,  when  it  was  suddenly  put 
aside  on  account  of  illness  and  never  thereafter  touched. 
Some  of  it  was  later  incorporated  into  the  text  "How  to 
Teach,"  by  Strayer  and  Norsworthy.  When  in  1916  it  was 
urged  that  the  preparation  be  resumed,  since  there  seemed 
to  be  a  felt  need  for  a  book  of  this  type  for  use  in  normal 
schools.  Miss  Norsworthy's  own  physical  condition  precluded 
the  attempt.  Less  than  a  fortnight  before  her  death,  when 
she  was  unable  to  talk  over  any  details,  she  requested  me  to 
complete  the  work  as  arranged  for  in  the  plan  of  chapter 
titles.  The  task  has  involved  a  revision,  partial  rewriting, 
and  the  addition  of  several  chapters.  This  may  explain 
discrepancies  in  point  of  view  and  in  style  for  which  I  can 
but  apologize.  Miss  Norsworthy's  many  friends,  to  whom 
this  book  is  affectionately  dedicated,  will,  I  am  sure,  under- 
stand that  any  adverse  criticisms  should  be  directed  towards 
the  reviser. 

I  am  indebted  for  valuable  help  to  Professor  E.  L.  Thorn- 
dike,  not  only  in  retaining  the  many  quotations  from  his 
works,  and  in  the  organization  of  the  early  part  of  the  book, 
but  also  for  much  friendly  criticism.  My  thanks  are  due 
also  to  Professors  Strayer  and  Monroe,  to  Dr.  Hollingworth 
for  suggestions  in  chapter  XVI,  and  to  my  cousin  for  assist- 
ance in  proof  reading. 

Mary  Theodora  Whitley. 


382493 


INTRODUCTION 

This  book  is  written  with  a  view  to  its  use  in  normal  schools. 
A  course  in  general  psychology  is  presupposed,  since  no  space 
is  devoted  to  the  explanation  of  common  psychological  terms, 
though  a  glossary  is  added  for  easy  reference.  The  authors 
are  of  opinion  that  the  study  of  a  special  branch,  such  as 
child  psychology,  should  follow  rather  than  precede,  or  even 
accompany,  a  study  of  the  more  general  science. 

It  is  intended  for  a  textbook,  not  for  reference  reading. 
To  this  end  special  features  have  been  employed,  e.g.  mar- 
ginal questions  as  well  as  topical  headings,  only  limited 
references,  sets  of  questions  with  each  chapter.  These  last 
are  of  two  distinct  kinds,  "exercises"  and  "questions  for 
discussion."  The  former  consist  of  problems,  queries  to  be 
answered  in  writing,  directions  for  observations,  field-work; 
the  latter  are  suggested  for  oral  use  in  the  classroom.  Either 
or  both  kinds  are  given  for  each  chapter.  They  have  been 
tested  by  use,  and  it  is  believed  that  greater  value  will  be 
secured  if  they  are  utilized  in  the  manner  indicated.  The 
references  following  each  chapter  are  in  no  way  supposed  to 
be  adequate  indexes  of  source  material;  but  they  suggest 
what  may  reasonably  be  required  of  a  group  of  students 
working  with  a  good-sized  library  at  command. 

Constant  emphasis  has  been  thrown  on  the  physiological 
basis  of  the  tendencies  discussed,  and  Thorndike's  classi- 
fication of  instincts,  on  the  basis  of  the  responses  made,  is 
adhered  to  throughout.  Though  in  some  instances  sugges- 
tions for  teaching  are  made,  yet  the  greatest  space  is  devoted 
to  a  descriptive  study  of  children  as  differentiated  from 
adults. 


viii  Introduction 

For  immature  students  it  may  be  found  easier  to  begin 
with  chapter  II,  postponing  or  omitting  chapter  I,  also  the 
last  part  of  chapter  XVII  which  deals  wholly  with  statistics. 

Naomi  Norsworthy, 
Mary  Theodora  Whitley. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PREFATORY  NOTE v 

INTRODUCTION vii 

^  CHAPTER  I 

THE   SOURCE  OF  ORIGINAL  NATURE i 

THE   CONTRIBUTION   OF    NEAR  ANCESTRY  .         .         .        .  i 

Resemblance  in  families i 

Specialized  inheritance          .        .        .        .        .        .        .  3 

Variation 5 

Regression 6 

Non-transmission  of  acquired  traits      .....  6 

Nature  versus  nurture 7 

Galton's  work 8 

Studies  of  twins 9 

Study  of  royalty 10 

THE   CONTRIBUTION   OF   SEX 11 

THE   CONTRIBUTION    OF   RACE 13 

Woodworth's  tests 14 

Recent  investigations 15 

Improvement  of  the  race  as  a  whole        .         .         .         .         .17 

CONCLUSION 18 

,        EXERCISES 20 

QUESTIONS 20 

CHAPTER  II 

THE   CHARACTERISTICS   OF  ORIGINAL   NATURE    .        .        .21 
DEPENDENCE    ON    PHYSIOLOGICAL    STRUCTURE  .21 

TYPES    OF    ORIGINAL   RESPONSES 22 

CHARACTERISTICS    OF    ORIGINAL   RESPONSES     ...  23 

They  are  mechanical 23 

They  are  constant .24 

They  are  delayed 26 

They  are  transitory 27 

They  are  crude 29 

METHODS   OF   MODIFYING   ORIGINAL    NATURE          .         .  29 

Disuse  or  stimulation 3° 

Unpleasant  or  pleasant  results 31 

Substitution  and  sublimahon 3^ 

ix 


X  Contents 

PAGE 

REASONS  FOR  DELAYEDNESS  AND  TRANSITORINESS  OF 

INSTINCTS 32 

Recapitulation  theory 32 

Evidence  stated  and  criticized 33 

EMBRYOLOGY 34 

VESTIGIAL   STRUCTURES 35 

VESTIGIAX   PSYCHOSES 36 

Derived,  culture  epoch  theory 37 

Utility  theory 38 

QUESTIONS 40 

CHAPTER   III 

TENDENCIES^  RESULTING    IN    ACTION.    NON-SOCIAL    IN- 
STINCTS    41 

GENERAL   PHYSICAL   ACTIVITY  .         .         .         .  .42 

Bodily  movements 42 

Theory  — fundamental  to  accessory      .....  43 

Provision  for  this  instinct    .        I 46 

Vocalization 46^ 

Manipulation 48 . 

FOOD-GETTING  AND   HUNTING 49. 

TEASING 51. 

OWNERSHIP   AND    COLLECTING 52N 

Training  needed 53 

Changes  with  age 53 

FIGHTING 54s 

Training  needed 56 

EXERCISES 57 

QUESTIONS 58 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE  SOCIAL  INSTINCTS  .        .        .        .• 59 

MOTHERLY   BEHAVIOR 59. 

Kindliness 5o 

Sympathy 61 

GREGARIOUSNESS !  63- 

Value  for  development ,         .63 

Importance  in  child  life 64 

DESIRE   FOR   APPROVAL   AND    DISPLAY         .         .         .         .  66  ■ 

Diflferences  with  maturity 66 

RIVALRY 58  . 

Dynamic  value .         ,         .69 

Danger  of  over-development 69 


Contents  xi 

PAGE 

IMITATION   AS   AN   INSTINCT 70 

It  is  specialized 71 

Most  imitation  is  due  to  habit 72 

Value  of  imitation 73 

^     SEX   INSTINCT 74 

Stages  and  fields  of  development 74 

Normal  and  abnormal  development 75 

Sex  education 77 

Training 77 

Instruction 78 

Teacher's  duty 79 

EXERCISES 80 

QUESTIONS 81 

'  CSAPTER   V 

TENDENCIES   ACCOMPANIED   BY  AFFECTIVE   STATES          .  82 

PHYSIOLOGICAL   BASIS   FOR    SATISFYINGNESS     ...  82 

Various  theories 83 

UTILIZATION    OF   AFFECTIVE    STATES   IN   EDUCATION       .  85 

.ESTHETIC    EMOTIONS 87 

Joy  in  creation  not  identical  with  aesthetic  pleasure        .         .  88 

Training  aesthetic  pleasure 89 

PRIMITIVE    EMOTIONS 89 

General  methods  of  control 91 

Study  of  fear 93 

Stimuli  and  responses 93 

Delayed  and  transitory  forms 94 

Control  of  fear 94 

EXERCISES 95 

QUESTIONS 96 

CHAPTER   VI 

TENDENCIES  RESULTING  IN  MENTAL  STATES.    ATTENTION  97 

ORIGINAL   ROOTS    OF   ATTENTION 97 

Significance  of  attentiveness 98 

Arousal  of  instinctive  attention 98 

DIFFERENCE      BETWEEN      ADULTS'      AND      CHILDREN'S 

ATTENTION 99 

In  span  or  range 99 

Difference  in  complexity  of  object 100 

Difference  in  mechanical  habits  present        .        .        .        .101 

In  intensity 102 


xii  Contents 

• 

PAGE 

In  duration 103 

Change  with  maturity 103 

Change  with  practice 104 

In  breadth  of  field 104 

In  type  of  attention 105 

In  ability  to  give  voluntary  attention 106 

Value  of  forced  attention 107 

Effort  and  interest        . 108 

Incentives  and  attention 109 

TRAINING   OF   ATTENTION no 

QUESTIONS .Ill 


CHAPTER   Vn 

SENSE  PERCEPTION 112 

ORIGINAL   ROOTS    OF   PERCEPTION 112 

DEVELOPMENT    OF   PERCEPTION 112 

By  differences  in  simultaneous  sensations        .         .         .         '113 

By  improved  attentiveness 114 

Resulting  differences  between  adults  and  children  .        .        •  115 

In  richness,  definiteness,  detail 115 

In  amount  of  stimulus  needed 116 

In  influence  of  "mind's  sei" 116 

CAUSE   OF  ILLUSIONS II7 

Specific  development 118 

Brightness,  color,  space 118 

Weight ug 

Sound,  rhythm 119 

SENSE   ORGANS 120 

Eye  defects 121 

Myopia,  hyperopia,  astigmatism 121 

Strabismus 121 

Color  blindness 121 

Ear  defects 122 

TRAINING   IN   PERCEPTION       .......  123 

Necessity  of  training 123 

Types  of  observation 124 

Inquiring  or  purposeful 124 

Non-purposive 124 

Purposive 124 

Individual  differences  in  perception 125 

Improvement  in  observation 126 

Teaching  suggestions 127 

EXERCISES 129 

QUESTIONS 130 


Contents 


xui 


CHAPTER   VIII 

PAGE 

MEMORY 131 

PHYSIOLOGICAL   BASIS   OF   MEMORY 131 

IMMEDIATE    MEMORY   AND    RETENTION  .         .         .131 

Difference  between  children  and  adults 132 

Suggestions  for  teaching 133 

MEMORY   FOR   VARIED    MATERIAL 134 

Ages  of  development 134 

Teaching  suggestions 136 

RELATION    OF   RATE    OF   LEARNING   TO    RETENTION        .  137 

MEMORIZING 138 

Distributed  or  continuous  method 138 

Repetition,  concentration  or  recall     .         .         .         .         .         .  140 

Whole  or  part  method 142 

Variation  in  sense  appeal 143 

OTHER   FACTORS  INFLUENCING    MEMORY  .         ,  .144 

PRESENT    STATUS    OF    MEMORY   WORK   IN    SCHOOL         .  145 

QUESTIONS 147 

CHAPTER  IX 

IMAGINATION 149 

ORIGINAL   BASIS    OF   IMAGINATION 149 

DIFFERENCES   BETWEEN   CHILDREN   AND   ADULTS  .         .  150 

In  kind  of  images  used 150 

Children  visualize  more 150 

Children  use  concrete  imagery  more 151 

TRAINING  IN   VERBAL  IMAGERY 152 

Characteristics  of  dijferent  periods 154 

VALUE   OF   PRODUCTIVE   IMAGERY 1 56 

POSSIBLE   DANGERS   IN   THE   ADOLESCENT   PERIOD  .  .157 

In  vividness  of  images 159 

Resulting  confusions 159 

"  LIES  " ■       .         .  160 

NIGHT   FEARS .162 

IMAGINARY   COMPANIONS 1 63 

In  amount  of  imagery 164 

DRAMATIZATION 164 

SYMBOLISM 166 

EXERCISES  .  .  . 167 

QUESTIONS .  168 

CHAPTER  X 

THINKING 169 

ORIGINAL  BASIS   OF   POWER  TO   THINK      .         .        .        .169 

It  develops  early 170 


xiv  Contents 

I 

PAGE 

\  DIFFERENCES   BETWEEN   ADULTS   AND   CHILDREN  .         .171 

Children  think  less  than  adults  do 171 

Most  needed  reactions  are  mechanical 172 

Environment  inhibits  it 172 

Discomfort  results i73 

Children's  thinking  is  inaccurate 176 

Their  facts  are  limited 176 

Their  premises  are  inaccurate 176 

Their  attention  is  less  concentrated 177 

They  do  not  systematize 178 

They  associate  by  wholes 179 

They  lack  a  critical  attitude 179 

Children's  problems  are  different 181 

Triviality  is  a  relative  term 181 

No  abrupt  change  at  adolescence 182 

NEED   OF  TRAINING  IN  THINKING 183 

EXERCISES 184 

QUESTIONS 186 


CHAPTER  XI 

GENERAL  TENDENCIES  OF  ALL  THE  TENDENCIES.    HABIT 

AND   LEARNING 187 

PLASTICITY     THE     PHYSIOLOGICAL     BASIS     OF     HABIT- 
FORMING       187 

Variation  in  plasticity 188 

Age  diferences  in  plasticity .  188 

Periods  of  greater  plasticity 189 

Suggestions  for  training 189 

^       LAWS   OF   HABIT   FORMING 191 

Exercise  and  effect 191 

Precepts  derived  therefrom        .         .         .         .         .         .  192 

The  full  nerve  circuit  must  be  used 192 

Take  economic  means  to  desired  result        .        .        .        .192 
Contrive  pleasant  results  after  right  response       .        .        -193 

Law  of  primacy 194 

Other  principles 196 

IMPROVEMENT 196 

Laboratory  and  school  compared 197 

Consciousness  of  definite  goal 197 

Speedy  working  of  law  of  effect 198 

Desire  to  improve 198 

Interest  in  work 199 


Contents  xvii 

PAOS 

Economic  conditions 260 

Organization,  and  demands  of  school  life         ....  261 
PHYSICAL     DIFFERENCES     BETWEEN      CHILDREN     AND 

ADULTS 262 

FACTS   OF   PHYSICAL   DEVELOPMENT 263 

Factors  determining  :    heredity  and  environment     .        .        .  263 

Growth  in  height  and  weight 265 

Growth  and  development  of  various  parts        ....  267 

Physiological  and  chronological  age 268 

CONSTRUCTIVE      MEASURES     FOR      IMPROVEMENT      OF 

HEALTH 270 

Inspection,  hygiene,  special  studies 270 

Recognition  of  defects        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .271 

Teeth    .         .         . 271 

Speech 272 

Adenoids,  tonsils 273 

Tuberculosis 275 

Contagious  diseases 276 

EXERCISES 277 


CHAPTER   XV 

A    CROSS-SECTION    OF    CHILD    LIFE    AT    FIVE    AND    AT 

ELEVEN 280 

CHILD   LIFE  AT   FIVE 280 

Physically 280 

Socially 281 

Standards  to  be  set 283 

Play  interests     .         . 284  ^ 

Instincts  prominent 286  \ 

Mental  characteristics 287 

Mental  tests 289 

CHILD   LIFE   AT   ELEVEN 290 

Physically 290 

Socially 292 

Moral  development 294 

Moral  standards  '. 295 

Play  interests 297  - 

Instincts  prominent 298   > 

Mental  characteristics -303 

Mental  tests S°5 

School  standards  in  various  countries       .....  3^5 

EXERCISE     .  . 308 

QUESTIONS 308 


xviii  Contents 


CHAPTER  XVI 

PAGE 

EXCEPTIONAL  CHILDREN 310 

BOUNDARIES   OF   ORDINARY  AND   EXCEPTIONAL               .  310 

EXCEPTIONAL   MORALITY 311 

Causes 313 

Diagnosis 313 

Treatment 314 

EXCEPTIONAL   PHYSICAL   CONDITIONS 315 

EpUepsy 315 

Kinds  and  cause 315 

Diagnosis  and  treatment 315 

Hysteria 316 

Characteristics      . 316 

Diagnosis  and  treatment 316 

Chorea 317 

Symptoms  and  treatment 317 

Tics 317 

Neurasthenia 318 

Characteristics  and  cause 318 

Diagnosis 318 

Treatment 319 

Dementia  praecox 319 

EXCEPTIONAL    MENTALITY 320 

Subnormal  mentality 320 

Degrees  classified 320 

Physical  characteristics 322 

Mental  characteristics 322 

Cause 323 

Diagnosis     .        .        .  ' 324 

WHO   SHOULD   MAKE   IT 324 

HOW  IT  IS   MADE $2$ 

Treatment 326 

Retarded  children 327 

Supernormal  mentality 328 

Characteristics 328 

Causes 329 

Diagnosis 329 

Treatment 330 

PROVISION  FOR   EXCEPTIONAL   CHILDREN.         .         .         .331 

Special  institutions 331 

Methods  of  grading 332 

EXERCISES 333 

QUESTIONS 334 


Contents  xix 


CHAPTER  XVn 

VAGE 

METHODS   USED   IN   CHILD   PSYCHOLOGY         ....  335 
CONTENT     DERIVED     FROM     OTHER     KINDS     OF     PSY- 
CHOLOGY            335 

METHODS  COMMON  TO  OTHER  KINDS  OF  PSYCHOLOGY  336 

Introspection       .         . 336 

Reminiscence 337 

Questionnaire 337 

Observation 338 

Free  activity  or  directed  response 338 

Extensive  or  intensive 339 

Experiment 34© 

Qualitative  or  quantitative 34° 

Tests  and  scales         . 34^ 

Purpose  of  scales 34i 

Training  in  administering  tests 342 

EXERCISES 343 

QUESTIONS 345 

STATISTICAL   METHODS 346 

Noting  the  number 347 

Noting  the  range 347 

Meaning  of  units  used 349 

Central  tendency 350 

Mode 350 

Median 351 

INTERPOLATED  MEDIAN 352 

Average 353 

Comparison  of  three  kinds 354 

Deviations  from  the  central  tendency 355 

Average  deviation 356 

Median  deviation 357 

Comparison  of  groups 358 

Measurement  of  resemblance,  correlation         ....  359 

e:cercises pp.  349*  35o-i-3-4-7-8-9>  361 

GLOSSARY 363 

INDEX 369 


)^ 


PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD''^ 


CHAPTER  I 

SOURCE  OF  ORIGINAL  NATURE 

THE  CONTRIBUTION  OF  NEAR  ANCESTRY.  —  It  is  a 
fact  so  generally  accepted  that  children  resemble  their  parents 
that  to  utter  it,  much  less  dwell  upon  it,  seems  at  „,^  ^ 

-         -        „  r^   A      1  •        r    1        1  1  1  1      1    »»    What  may 

first  hardly  necessary.        A  chip  of  the  old  block,'    a  child  in- 
"  his  father's  own  child  "  are  maxims  of  the  race,  ^^ritfrom 

A  11  1       1  .      r  .      .        ,  1  hisparents? 

Accepted  though  this  fact  is  m  theory,  however, 
much  of  our  treatment  of  children  ignores  it,  and  some  of 
the  commonly  accepted  aims  of  education  are  a  distinct 
repudiation  of  it.  Yet  the  resemblances  in  families  are 
among  some  of  the  most  striking  facts  of  common  observation. 
In  the  realm  of  the  physical  we  find  resemblance  in  all  of  the 
features,  eye  and  hair  color,  stature,  cephaUc  index,  shape  of 
hands  or  face,  so  much  so  that  a  child  is  often  said  to  be  the 
"  exact  image  "  of  father  or  grandmother  because  of  this 
closeness  of  likeness.  Just  as  good  eyesight  and  longevity 
are  family  characteristics,  so  also  color  blindness,  left-handed- 
ness.  some  slight  peculiarity  of  structure  such  as  an  extra  finger 
or  toe,  or  the  Hapsburg  lip,  sense  defects  such  as  deafness  or 
blindness,  tendencies  to  certain  diseases,  especially  those  of 
the  nervous  system,  —  all  these  run  in  families.  Certain  men- 
tal traits  likewise  are  obviously  handed  down  from  parents  to 
child,  such  as  strong  will,  memory  for  faces,  musical  imagi- 
nation, abilities  in  mathematics  or  the  languages,  artistic 
talent.  In  these  ways  and  many  others  children  resemble  their 
parents.    The  same  general  law  holds  of  likes  and  dislikes, 


2  Psychology  of  Childhood 

of  temperamental  qualities  such  as  quick  temper,  vivacity, 
lovableness,  moodiness.  In  all  traits,  characteristics,  features, 
powers  both  physical  and  mental,  and  to  some  extent  moral 
also,  children's  original  nature,  their  stock  in  trade,  is  deter- 
mmed  by  their  immediate  ancestry.  "  We  inherit  our  parents' 
tempers,  our  parents'  conscientiousness,  shyness  and  ability 
as  we  inherit  their  stature,  forearm  and  span,"  says  Pearson.^ 
But  the  original  nature  in  terms  of  family  inheritance  is  not 
determined  merely  by  the  natures  of  the  parents :  there  are 
What  may  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^^  ancestors  concerned  in  the  production 
each  parent  of  every  child.  Sir  Francis  Galton,  in  his  re"^N^ 
toi?hemaL-  searches  on  heredity,  reached  the  conclusion  that 
up  of  a  one  half  of  a  child's  original  equipment  was  due  to 
chMT  ^^^  influence  of  his  parents,  one  fourth  to  his  grand- 

parents, one  eighth  to  his  great-grandparents  and  so  on  back 
in  geometric  ratio.)  Thus  it  sometimes  happens  that  though! 
a  child  appears  to  be  a  changeling,  like  no  near  relative,  yetj 
an  investigation  into  the  ancestral  lines  will  usually  explain 
the  nature  that  seems  a  riddle  when  considering  only  the 
parent.  The  question  as  to  whether  inheritance  is  "  blended  " 
or  "  alternate  "  has  as  yet  received  no  definite  answer.  Sup- 
pose one  parent  to  have  a  given  amount  of  a  certain  trait, 
and  the  other  parent  to  have  a  given  amount  of  an  opposite 
one,  the  question  is,  will  the  child  inherit  one  or  the  other 
trait,  or  will  he  inherit  a  compound  of  the  two  ?  In  some  cases 
a  child  "  takes  after  "  his  mother,  in  others  his  father,  and 
sometimes  it  seems  that  he  is  a  combination  of  mother  and 
father.  It  may  be  true  that  certain  traits  follow  the  first 
method,  and  others  the  second.  The  pigmentation  of  eyes 
and  hair  seems  to  follow  the  first,  and  stature  seems  to  follow 
either  of  the  laws.  Then  again,  since  a  given  trait  in  the  off- 
spring may  be  an  inheritance  from  grand-  or  great-grand- 
parent, it  might  appear  neither  as  blend  nor  as  alternate  but 
some  other  thing. 

»  Pearson,  Huxley  Lecture,  '03.    Journal  Anth.  Inst.  32. 


Source  of  Original  Nature  3 

Mendel's  law  ^  explains  very  clearly  how  these  traits  may 
occur  in  children,  making  them  surprisingly  unlike  either 
parent  in  this  one  particular  trait,  but  entirely  like  some 
ancestor  of  three  or  four  generations  ago.  It  is  very  difficult 
to  discern  which  method  is  followed  by  mental  and  tempera- 
mental traits,  and  at  present  nothing  definite  is  known, 
because  of  the  complexity  of  the  thing  called  a  trait  or  a 
characteristic.  Each  amount  of  every  trait  has,  in  Mendelian 
terms,  a  certain  determiner  in  the  germs  which  go  to  make 
the  individual;  each  determiner  may  be  either  a  unit  or 
multiple,  and  again  it  may  be  either  variable  or  invariable. 
Just  what  is  the  determiner  that  is  effective  in  producing 
leadership,  or  gentleness,  or  quick  temper,  or  energy,  is  not 
known;  and  therefore  its  nature,  as  to  whether  unitary  or 
multiple,  and  the  laws  governing  its  transmission,  are  equally 
unknown.  Certain  features  and  traits  of  plants  and  animals 
have  been  analyzed  into  their  unit  characters,  and  the  de- 
terminers of  these  have  been  controlled  by  those  interested 
in  the  breeding  of  a  certain  stock,  but  with  the  human  ani- 
mal and  with  the  more  complex  traits  of  the  lower  animals, 
hardly  more  than  a  beginning  has  been  made. 

Speciolized  inheritance.  —  Granted  that  near  ancestry  has 
much  t(X  do  with  the  make-up  of  the  original  nature  of 
a  child,  the  question  naturally  follows  as  to  whether  specific 
traits,  the  specialization  of  ability,  is  also  the  result  of  family 

^  Wt.en  two  varieties  of  a  species,  having  different  characteristics,  are  crossed 
in  breeding,  the  resulting  hybrid  generation  resembles  one  parent,  the  "domi- 
nant"; the  "recessive"  characteristic  of  the  other  is  apparently  suppressed, 
but  is  really  latent,  for  it  will  appear  in  later  generations.  When  the  hybrids 
are  inbred,  25  per  cent  of  their  offspring  have  the  "recessive"  characteristic  of 
one  grandparent,  25  per  cent  have  the  "dominant"  characteristic  of  the  other. 
The  other  50  per  cent  may  either  resemble  the  hybrid  parents,  or  be  indis- 
tinguishable from  the  25  per  cent  "dominants"  till  they  in  turn  produce  another 
generation.  Thus,  black  (dominant)  Andalusian  fowls  mated  with  white  (re- 
cessive) produce  nothing  but  slaty  blue.  The  blue  hybrids,  if  mated,  produce 
in  a  brood  of  twelve,  three  white,  three  black,  and  six  blue. 

See  Punnet,  Mendelism,  pp.  17-78  for  a  full  account. 


4  Psychology  of  Childhood 

inheritance.  Does  the  inheritance  from  near  ancestry  simply 
lay  down  the  general  lines  of  development,  give  the  direction 
Is  inherit-  ^^  ^^^  tempo  of  attainment,  provide  the  total 
ance  special  amount  of  energy,  make  one  a  genius,  without  de- 
OT general?  ^^^^^^^  in  what  special  field  the  gift  is  to  be 
manifested?  In  other  words,  is  inheritance  merely  in  terms 
of  the  general  or  is  it  highly  specialized  ? 

All  the  investigations  made  up  to  the  present  show  de- 
cisively that  the  inheritance  is  very  highly  speciaHzed.  Gal  ton 
in  his  "  Hereditary  Genius  "  ^  shows  that  "  out  of  286  judges, 
more  than  one  in  every  nine  of  them  have  been  either  father, 
son  or  brother  to  another  judge."  Concerning  the  relatives 
of  eminent  statesmen,  he  says :  "  The  combination  of  high 
intellectual  gifts,  tact  in  dealing  with  men,  power  of  expres- 
sion in  debate,  and  ability  to  endure  exceedingly  hard  work, 
is  hereditary."  He  finds  similar  specialization  of  ability  in 
the  careers  of  the  relatives  of  great  commanders  and  Hterary 
men.  Gal  ton  and  EUis  emphasize  the  fact  that  painters 
form  a  group  in  which  the  specialization  of  abilities  in  families 
is  most  striking.  Nine  painters  of  great  merit  are  found  in 
the  family  of  Titian ;  and  Raphael,  Van  Dyck,  Murillo  like- 
wise belonged  to  families  celebrated  for  their  artistic  genius. 
In  a  list  of  forty-two  famiUes  Galton  found  twenty-one  who 
had  illustrious  relatives.  In  musical  genius  the  same  special- 
ization in  inheritance  is  found.  **  Beginning  with  Weit  Bach 
the  Prisburg  baker,  we  have  a  record  of  an  unbroken  line  of 
musicians  of  the  same  name  that  for  nearly  two  centuries 
overran  Thuringia,  Saxony  and  Franconia.  In  the  family 
there  were  twenty-nine  eminent  musicians.  The  names  of 
Beethoven,  Mendelssohn,  Mozart  and  Haydn  represent 
families  famed  for  their  musical  abilities."  ^ 

The  investigations  of  the  special  abilities  of  school  children 
of  the  same  family  point  to  the  same  general  truth.  Pearson 
found  that  inheritance  in  such  traits  as  popularity,  temper, 

»  Pages  62  and  104.  »  Bolton,  Principles  of  Education,  p.  190. 


Source  of  Original  Nature  5 

handwriting  was-  to  almost  the  same  degree  as  in  stature  and 
eye  color.  Burris  found  that  superiority  in  one  single  high- 
school  study  is  nearly  or  quite  as  much  a  matter  of  heredity 
as  is  general  ability  to  do  well  in  school  work.  This  special- 
ization in  inheritance  obviously  explains  the  fact  that  two 
children  of  one  family  ahke  in  one  trait  as  a  result  of  heredity 
may  be  quite  unhke  in  other  traits.  Even  twins  who  may  be 
similar  in  physical  traits  may  be  dissimilar  in  mental.  Two 
children  may  both  be  good  spellers,  yet  one  quick  and  the 
other  slow  in  reaction  time:  both  may  have  quick  tempers 
and  one  possess  the  power  to  control  it  which  the  other  lacks. 
'Thus,  upon  analysis,  the  fact  of  a  child's  resemblance  to  his 
parents  is  seen  to  be  in  reality  the  sum  total  of  his  physical 
and  mental  traits,  each  resembling,  more  or  less  in  inde- 
pendence of  other  traits,  the  corresponding  trait  in  either 
parent,  or  some  more  remote  ancestor. 

Variation.  —  The  working  of  the  law  of  resemblance  in 
families  is  sometimes  obscured  by  two  other  principles  — 
namely,  the  principle  of  variation  and  the  principle  of  return 
towards  the  average.  The  first  of  these  principles  involves 
the  fact  that  a  parent  will  produce  offspring  in  whom  his 
own  traits  will  be  approximated  rather  than  duplicated.  If 
it  were  possible  to  grade  these  traits  on  a  very  fine  scale,  we 
should  find  the  ratings  of  the 'children's  traits  .mrym^^^bout 
the  point  near  which  the  parent's  rating  occurred,  that  is 
to  say,  not  just  exactly  at  the  same  point.  Thus  it  comes 
that  no  two  natures  are  identical.  Even  in  the  case  of  "  iden- 
tical twins  "  where  the  antenatal  influences  are  so  nearly  the 
same,  the  natures  may  vary  widely.  And  this  must  be  so 
long  as  the  germs  producing  the  individual  vary.  Two 
children  of  very  different,  almost  opposing  natures,  may  be 
found  in  the  same  family,  and  this  fact  instead  of  a  contra- 
diction is  really  a  proof  of  the  closeness  of  family  inheritance, 
as  it  is  also  a  proof  of  the  complexity  and  variability  of  the 
germs  which  produce  human  nature.     Because  of  this  vari- 


6  Psychology  of  Childhood 

ability,  stupid  parents  may  have  gifted  sons,  quick-tempered 
parents  stolid  sons,  short  parents  tall  sons,  inartistic  parents 
artistic  sons. 

Regression.  —  The  other  principle  of  return  towards  the 
average  is  one  that  arouses  the  comment  of  even  the  unob- 
serving.  It  is  the  exception  to  find  the  child  of  a  great  genius 
possessing  ability  equal  to  his  father's,  no  matter  in  what 
the  genius  may  be  displayed.  Abilities  die  out,  even  in 
thoroughbreds  of  racing  stock  when  all  precautions  are 
taken  with  respect  to  breeding  and  training.  That  is,  the 
ratings  of  children  do  not  cluster  immediately  about  the 
station  occupied  by  their  exceptional  parents,  but  about  a 
point  somewhere  between  the  extreme  position  occupied  by 
their  parents  and  the  average.  For  example,  the  records  of 
height  of  the  children  of  a  man  three  inches  taller  than  the 
average  will  not  cluster  about  that  point,  but  about  a  point 
one  or  two  inches  above  the  average.  This  principle,  other 
things  being  equal,  is  effective  whether  the  rating  be  above 
or  below  the  average,  but  other  things  are  not  always  equal 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  scale.  Thus  nature  in  the  working 
of  the  laws  of  heredity  is  always  pulling  towards  the  average 
and  so  providing  for  solidarity  and  balance;  at  the  same 
time,  because  of  the  principle  of  variation,  new  possibilities, 
genius,  and  talent  are  continually  being  produced. 

Non-transmission  of  acquired  traits.  —  The  question  as  to 
whether  the  original  nature  of  a  child  is  directly  influenced 
by  the  acquisition  of  the  parents  has  been  hotly 
^jj."  J*  discussed.  Practically  stated,  the  question  is,  can 
transmit  a  man  pass  on  to  his  offspring  only  the  nature  that 
acquires?  ^^  inherits,  or  also  any  acquisition  or  skill  that  has 
come  as  a  result  of  education  or  training?  For 
example,  would  the  son  of  a  man  born  at  the  height  of  his 
father's  success  as  a  writer  be  more  likely  to  inherit  literary 
ability  than  one  born  at  the  beginning  of  his  career?  Of 
course  the  obvious  way  to  solve  this  question  is  by  experi- 


Source  of  Original  Nature  7 

ment,  by  allowing  generation  after  generation  —  all  the 
members  of  each  —  to  acquire  a  certain  habit,  and  then 
testing  to  see  whether  the  acquisitions  come  more  rapidly 
as  generation  succeeds  generation.  No  decisive  experiments 
have  been  carried  out,  although  attempts  along  this  line 
have  been  made.^  The  conclusion  must  therefore  rest  at 
present  on  merely  theoretic  grounds,  and  in  consequence 
be  but  tentative.  Following  Lamarck,  a  school  of  psycholo- 
gists and  biologists  declare  their  belief  in  the  possibility  and 
the  fact  of  the  transmission  of  acquired  traits.  Weismann 
and  those  who  follow  him  take  the  opposite  side  of  the  ques- 
tion and  declare  that  such  transmission  is  impossible.  Such 
facts  as  these:  a  parent  is  an  expert  baseball  pitcher,  and 
his  son  excels  in  the  same  line  also ;  a  parent  is  expert  in  the 
use  of  her  needle,  and  her  daughter  shows  the  same  trait; 
a  parent  is  an  expert  linguist,  and  the  children  have  the  same 
talent,  —  all,  according  to  Weismann,  would  be  explained 
by  the  same  reason,  namely :  because  the  characteristic  was 
a  part  of  the  original  equipment  of  each  generation,  a  result, 
in  other  words,  of  heredity.  The  human  race  has  changed 
from  primitive  times,  language  and  culture  have  grown  up, 
such  facts  as  walking  in  an  upright  position  and  using  the 
hands  dexterously  have  attained  their  perfection,  the  traits 
of  intellect  and  character  have  outgrown  those  of  brute 
strength  and  sagacity,  not  as  a  matter  of  transmission  directly 
from  generation  to  generation,  but  as  a  result  of  gradually 
changing  social  conditions,  and  the  working  of  the  law  of 
selection.  "  Not  the  inheritance ,  of  acquisitions,  but  the 
selection  of  those  who  could  acquire'."  ^ 

Nature  versus  nurture.  —  The  discussion  so  far  has  been 
emphasizing  the  importance  and  the  strength  of  family  in 
determining  the  original  nature  of  the  individual.  As  an 
outcome  of  such  discussion  the  questions  naturally  arise,  — 

*  For  a  full  account,  see  J.  A.  Thomson,  Heredity,  ch.  VII. 
«  Thorndike,  Original  Nature  of  Man,  p.  233. 


S  Psychology  of  Childhood 

Is  a  man  then  what  he  is  because  of  his  family?  or  Does  his 
training  or  his  environment  influence  his  attainment,  and  if 

so,  to  what  extent  ?  In  other  words,  the  question 
oT^m!!ture  raised  is  as  to  the  relative  importance  of  nature 
the  stronger  and  nurture.  The  first  and  even  now  the  most 
nantP^'       Comprehensive  study  of  this  question  is  the  work 

done  by  _^if^rancis  Gallon  in  his  book  entitled 
"  Hereditary  Genius.'^  He  examined  the  careers  of  the 
relatives  of  977  men  of  genius,  each  of  whom  would  be  ranked 
as  one  in  four  thousahdTor  intellectual  attainment,  and  then 
compared  with  these  the  careers  of  the  relatives  of  977  men 
of  average  ability  of  the  same  social  rank.  If  nurture  is  the 
stronger  factor,  the  proportion  of  eminent  men  in  the  two 
groups  should  be  approximately  the  same,  for  the  nurture 
was  that  of  families  of  the  same  social  standing  in  England. 
His  results  were  as  follows :  In  the  first  group  he  found  89 
fathers,  114  brothers,  129  sons,  —  a  total  of  3^2  men  of 
eminence;  52  grandfathers,  37  grandsons,  53  uncles,  61 
nephews,  —  a  total  of^203  men  of  eminence.  The  977  eminent 
men  had  535  eminent  relatives.  In  the  second  group  he  found 
one  father,  brother,  or  son ;  three  grandfathers,  grandsons, 
uncles,  and  nephews  together.  The  977  average  men  of  the 
same  social  standing  had  but  four  eminent  relatives.  To  some 
people  this  may  not  be  convincing,  for  the  plea  is  made  that 
the  surroundings  of  a  child  in  the  family  of  an  eminent  man 
cannot  be  the  same  as  those  in  the  family  when  the  ability 
of  parents  is  only  average,  despite  a  similarity  in  social  rank. 
This  objection  may  be  ^wered  by  Galton's  study  of  the 
adopted  sons  of  popes.  In  different  centuries  boys  were 
adopted  by  men  of  undoubted  ability,  brought  up  in  the 
atmosphere  of  the  highest  culture,  intellectual  and  executive 
attainment  of  their  times ;  yet  history  does  not  record  that 
any  achieved  the  degree  of  eminence  reached  by  the  real 
sons  of  gifted  men.  Nature,  not  nurture,  seems  to  be  the 
determining  factor. 


Source  of  Original  Nature  9 

Studies  of  twins.  —  Thorndike  studied  fifty  pairs  of  twins 
taken  from  the  New  York  public  schools  to  see  whether 
there  was  a  greater  degree  of  resemblance  between  them 
than  between  other  brothers  and  sisters.  A  greater  similarity 
between  them  would  mean  that  nature  was  stronger  than 
nurture,  for  it  is  in  a  greater  identity  of  nature  that  twins 
differ  from  ordinary  sibhngs.  The  results  obtained  are 
shown  in  the  following  table.^  R  means  the  resemblance 
found  between  the  twins. 

In  the  A  test  R  =  .69^ 

In  the  a-t  and  r-e  tests         R  =  .71 
In  the  misspelled  word  test  R  =  .80  plus 
In  addition  R  =  .75 

In  multiplication  R  =  .84 

In  the  opposite  test  R  =  .90 

For  the  ordinary  siblings  but  a  few  years  apart  in  age  in 
the  tests  that  have  been  made  the  resemblance  is  less  than 
half  as  great.  Thorndike  gives  two  additional  reasons  for 
believing  that  this  close  similarity  could  not  have  been  caused 
by  environmental  conditions.  In  the  first  place,  were  en- 
vironment the  cause,  the  longer  it  had  to  act  the  greater 
should  grow  the  resemblance,  and  twins  of  13  and  14  years 
old  should  be  more  alike  than  those  of  9  and  10.  This  is 
not  found  to  be  the  case.  In  the  second  place,  if  training 
is  the  cause  the  traits  that  are  much  open  to  the  influences  of 
training  should  show  a  greater  similarity  than  those  little 
subject  to  training ;  they  do  not  show  any  greater  similarity, 
however.  Thorndike's  evidence  is  then  in  accord  with  Gal- 
ton's  conclusion:  namely,  that  nature  is  the  prepotent  in- 
fluence in  determining  intellectual  ability.  Pearson  and 
Heymans  and  Wiersma  studied  the  same  question  by  having 
teachers,  physicians,  or  members  of  the  family  rate  the  chil- 
dren in  the  family,  or  the  parents  and  children,  on  certain 
1  Thorndike,  A  Study  of  Twins. 


10  Psychology  of  Childhood 

qualities  and  traits ;  the  degree  of  likeness  being  considered 
a  measure  of  the  effect  of  heredity.  Both  these  studies  are 
open  to  criticism,  but  it  is  believed  their  results  show  that 
heredity  far  outweighs  the  influence  of  home  training. 

Studies  in  royalty.  —  Dr.  Frederick  Adams  Woods  in  his 
study  of  "  Mental,  and  Moral  Heredity  in  Royalty  "  reaches 
the  same  conclusion.  He  chose  671  persons  in  the  royal 
famihes  of  Europe  in  general  from  as  far  back  as  the  sixteenth, 
in  some  cases  from  the  eleventh,  century.  He  gave  each  a 
rating  determined  as  objectively  as  possible  on  the  scale  of 
from  I  to  10  in  intellect,  also  another  rating  in  morality; 
then  he  studied  the  distribution  of  the  ratings.  The  degree 
to  which  certain  ratings  cluster  in  families  shows  the  influence 
of  heredity,  for  were  that  not  the  influential  factor,  the  various 
grades  would  be  scattered  at  random.  Imagining  a  complete 
chart  to  be  constructed,  large  enough  to  contain  all  these  671 
people  arranged  as  in  the  familiar  genealogical  "  tree,"  he 
says,  "  if  such  a  great  chart  were  constructed,  we  should  see 
the  geniuses,  or  (9)  and  (10)  grades,  not  scattered  at  random 
over  its  entire  surface,  but  isolated  little  groups  of  (9)  and 
(10)  characters  (the  individuals  within  each  group  contiguous 
to  each  other)  would  be  found  here  and  there.  One  such 
group  would  be  seen  centering  around  Frederick  the  Great, 
another  around  Queen  Isabella  of  Spain,  another  in  the 
neighborhood  of  William  the  Silent,  and  still  a  fourth  \snth 
Gustavus  Adolphus  as  a  center.  .  .  .  Those  in  the  lowest 
grades  for  intellect  would  also  be  foimd  close  to  others  of 
the  lowest  type,  and  would  fall  specifically  in  Spain  and 
Russia.  .  .  .  There  would  be  certain  regions  composed 
almost  entirely  of  grades  from  (4)  to  (7).  .  .  .  The  upshot 
of  it  all  is  that  as  regards  intellectual  life,  en%dronment  is  a 
totally  inadequate  explanation.  .  .  .  Therefore  it  would 
seem  that  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  all  these  rough 
differences  m  intellectual  activity  which  are  susceptible  of 
grading  on  a  scale  of  ten  are  due  to  predetermined  differences 


Source  of  Original  Nature  ii 

in  the  primary  germ  cells."  ^  In  his  conclusion  with  respect 
to  the  effect  of  environment  on  moraUty  Dr.  Woods  is  less 
emphatic,  although  he  still  beUeves  that  of  the  two  factors 
''  inheritance  plays,  in  the  formation  of  morality,  a  force 
greater  than  fifty  per  cent."  However,  the  fact  that  he 
finds  most  of  the  moral  degenerates  in  families  where  also 
insanity,  epilepsy,  or  other  psychoses  are  closely  associated 
suggests  that  though  in  the  lower  extreme  of  morals,  es- 
pecially when  there  is  hereditary  intellectual  taint,  the  con- 
clusion may  be  in  favor  of  heredity,  still  in  the  average  person 
with  a  sound  body  the  effect  of  environment  in  determining 
his  rnorality  may  be  greater  than  50  p>er  cent. 

THE  CONTRIBUTIONS  OF  SEX.  —  Another  factor  op- 
erative in  producing  the  original  nature  of  an  individual  is 
the  fact  of  sex.     That  men  and  women  are  dif-  jnwhat 
ferent,  that  their  natures  are  not  the  same,  has  waysnK^i 
long  been  an  accepted  fact.     Out  of  this  fact  of  dif-  ^nehnt 
ference  have  grown  many  hot  discussions  as  to  the  differ  from 
superiority  of  one  or  the  other  nature  as  a  whole.  ^  * 
The  present  pK)int  of  view  of  scientists  seems  well  expressed 
by  Ellis  when  he  says,  "  We  may  regard  all  such  discussions 
as  absolutely  futile  and  foolish.     If  it  is  a  question  of  deter- 
mining the  existence  and  significance  of  some  particular  physi- 
cal or  psychic  sexual  difference,  a  conclusion  may  not  be  im- 
p>ossible.     To  make  any  broad  statement  of  the  phenomena 
is  to  recognize  that  no  general  conclusion  is  possible.     Now 
and  again  we  come  across  facts  which  group  themselves  with 
a  certain  degree  of  uniformity,  but  as  we  continue,  we  find 
other  equally  important  facts  which  group  themselves  with 
equal  imiformity  in  another  sense.    The  result  produces  com- 
pensation." 2 

The  question  of  interest  then  is,  what  in  nature  is  peculiar 
to  the  male  sex  and  what  to  the  female  ?    What  traits  will  be 

»  Woods,  Mental  and  Moral  Heredity  in  Royalty,  pp.  265  and  266,  and  p.  286. 
«  H-  Ellis,  Man  and  Woman,  p.  449. 


12  Psychology  of  Childhood 

true  of  a  boy,  merely  because  he  is  a  boy,  and  vice  versa  ? 
This  has  been  an  extremely  difficult  question  to  answer,  be- 
cause of  the  difficulty  encountered  in  trying  to  eliminate  the 
influence  of  environment  and  training.  Boys  are  what  they 
are  because  of  their  original  nature  glus  their  surroundings. 
Some  would  claim  that  could  we  give  tibys  and  girls  the  same 
surroundings,  the  same  social  requirements,  the  same  treat- 
ment from  babyhood,  there  would  be  no  difference  in 
the  resulting  natures.  vTraining  undoubtedly  accentuates 
inborn  sex  differences  and  it  is  true  that  a  reversal  of  training 
does  lessen  this  difference;  however,  the  weight  of  opinion 
at  present  is  that  differences  in  intellect  and  character  do 
exist  because  of  differences  of  sex,  but  that  these  have  been 
unduly  magnified?  H.  B.  Thompson,  in  her  investigation 
entitled  ''  The  Mental  Traits  of  Sex,"  finds  that  "  Motor 
ability  in  most  of  its  forms  is  better  developed  in  men  than  in 
women.  In  strength,  rapidity  of  movement,  and  rate  of 
fatigue,  they  have  a  very  decided  advantage,  and  in  precision 
of  movement  a  slight  advantage.  .  .  .  The  thresholds  are  on 
the  whole  lower  in  women,  discriminative  sensibility  is  on  the 
whole  better  in  men.  .  .  .  All  these  differences,  however,  are 
slight.  As  for  the  intellectual  faculties,  women  are  decidedly 
superior  to  men  in  memory,  and  possibly  more  rapid  in  associ- 
ative thinking.  Men  are  probably  superior  in  ingenuity.  .  .  . 
The  data  on  the  life  of  feeling  indicate  that  there  is  Httle,  if 
any,  sexual  difference  in  the  degree  of  domination  by  emotion, 
and  that  social  consciousness  is  more  prominent  in  men  and 
religious  consciousness  in  women."  ^ 

Pearson  in  his  measurement  of  traits,  not  by  objective  tests 
but  by  opinions  of  people  who  know  the  individual,  finds  that 
boys  are  more  athletic,  noisy,  self-assertive,  self-conscious; 
less  popular,  duller  in  conscience,  quicker-tempered,  less  sullen, 
a  little  duller  intellectually  and  less  efficient  in  penmanship. 
Heymans  and  Wiersma,  following  the  same  general  method  as 

^  Thompson,  Mental  Traits  of  Sex,  pp.  169,  170,  171. 


Source  of  Original  Nature  13 

Pearson,  state  as  their  general  conclusions  that  the  female  is 
more  active,  more  emotional,  and  more  unselfish  than  the  male. 
*'  They  consider  women  to  be  more  impulsive,  less  efficient 
intellectually,  and  more  fickle  than  men  as  a  result  of  the  first 
two  differences  mentioned  above :  to  be  gifted  in  music,  acting, 
conversation  and  the  invention  of  stories  as  a  result  in  part  of 
the  second  difference ;  and  to  think  well  of  people  and  to  be 
easily  reconciled  to  them  as  a  result  of  the  third."  ^  Thorn- 
dike  finds  the  chief  differences  to  be  that  the  female  varies 
less  from  the  average  standard,  is  more  observant  of  small 
visual  details,  less  often  color-blind,  less  interested  in  things 
and  their  mechanisms,  more  interested  in  people  and  their 
feelings,  less  given  to  pursuing,  capturing,  and  maltreating 
living  things,  and  more  given  to  nursing,  comforting,  and  re- 
lieving them  than  is  the  male.  H.  Ellis  considers  the  chief 
differences  to  be  the  less  tendency  to  variabiHty,  the  greater 
affectability,  and  the  greater  primitiveness  of  the  female  mind, 
and  the  less  ability  shown  by  women  in  dealing  with  the  more 
remote  and  abstract  interests  in  Hfe.  All  the  authors  empha- 
size the  smallness  of  the  differences ;  and  after  all  the  striking 
thing  is  not  the  differences  between  the  sexes  but  the  great 
difference  within  the  same  sex  in  respect  to  every  mental  trait 
tested.  The  difference  of  man  from  man,  and  woman  from 
woman,  in  any  trait  is  almost  as  great  as  the  differences  be- 
tween the  sexes  in  that  trait.  (  Sex  can  be  the  cause  then  of 
only  a  fraction  of  the  differences  between  the  original  nature 
of  individuals) 

THE  CONTRIBUTION  OF  RACE. —  A  third  source  of 
original  nature  is  race.     It  has  been  customary  to  Are  there 
laud  the  white,  and  in  particular  the  Anglo-Saxon  '^^f^'lf^^' 
race  as  that  in  which  the  intellect  has  most  de-  original 
veloped,   the   race    that  excels   all    others  in  its  na'"''«? 
genius,  its  power  to  invent  and  to  reason.     In  contrast  to  it 

iThorndike,    Educational   Psychology,    Vol.    3,   p.    200.      Heymans  and 
Wiersma,  Zeitschrift  fur  Psychologic,  Vol.  45. 


14  Psychology  of  Childhood 

the  darker  races  have  been  held  up  to  scorn.  The  keen  sense 
power  of  the  American  Indian  and  the  African  Kaffir  has 
been  commented  upon  and  the  law  of  compensation  has  been 
called  upon  to  explain  why  they  have  not  progressed  further. 
A  critical  reader  will  at  once  note  that  the  evidence  upon  which 
these  deductions  are  based  is  almost  entirely  anecdotal  rather 
than  scientific,  depending  upon  untrained  travelers'  tales 
instead  of  upon  objective  tests.  Hence  no  allowance  has  been 
made  for  training,  for  customs,  or  for  surroundings. 

Woodworth's  tests.  —  One  of  the  first  serious  investiga- 
tions into  race  differences  was  made  by  R.  S.  Woodworth  at 
the  St.  Louis  Exposition'  in  1904.  Summarizing  his  results 
and  those  of  other  investigators  as  to  keenness  of  senses  he 
says :  **  On  the  whole,  the  keenness  of  the  senses  seems  to 
be  about  on  a  par  in  the  various  races  of  mankind."  In  tests 
of  reaction  time  and  power  and  of  making  simple  judgments 
he  found  that  the  "  results  tend  to  show  that  simple  sorts  of 
judgments,  being  subject  to  the  same  disturbances,  proceed 
in  the  same  manner  among  various  peoples :  so  that  the 
similarity  of  the  races  in  mental  processes  extends  at  least  a 
step  beyond  sensation."  When  it  comes  to  testing  general 
intelligence,  however,  the  matter  becomes  much  more  com- 
plicated. In  reporting  on  a  very  simple  test  of  intelligence 
he  says :  "  If  their  results  could  be  taken  at  their  face  value, 
they  would  indicate  differences  in  intelligence  between  races, 
giving  such  groups  as  the  Pygmy  and  Negrito  a  low  station 
compared  with  most  of  mankind."  ^  The  doubt  as  to 
whether  th^y  can  be  taken  at  face  value  arises  from  the  fact 
that  the  tests  administered  may  not  have  been  equally  fair, 
equally  novel  to  all  the  races.  However,  Woodworth's  con- 
clusion as  to  the  low  rank  of  the  negroid  races  is  borne  out  by 
such  investigations  as  have  been  made  into  the  relative  stand- 
ings of  the  white  and  negro  children  in  the  public  schools  even 
though  these  may  be  subjected  to  the  same  criticism  noted, 

^  R.  S,  Woodworth,  Racial  Differences  in  Mental  Traits,  pp.  176,  181. 


Source  of  Original  Nature  15 

namely,  the  conditions  may  not  have  been  identical.  In  op- 
position to  this  H.Ellis  says, "  The  child  of  many  African  races 
is  scarcely  if  at  all  less  intelligent  than  the  European  child, 
but  while  the  African  as  he  grows  up  becomes  stupid  and 
obtuse,  and  his  whole  social  life  falls  into  a  state  of  hide-bound 
routine,  the  European  retains  much  of  his  child-Hke  vivacity,"  ^ 
a  difference  then  either  of  nurture  and  not  of  original  nature, 
or  of  some  hereditary  factor  curtailing  progress  after  puberty 
in  the  one  case  but  not  in  the  other.  Something  has  been 
done  along  the  line  of  comparing  the  different  nations,  but  no 
definite  conclusions  have  been  reached. 

Recent  investigations.  —  More  recently  there  have  ap- 
peared a  number  of  studies  by  Mayo,  Pyle,  Rowe,  Perring, 
and  others  dealing  with  differences  between  negro  and  white, 
or  Indian  and  white  children  in  the  schools  of  this  country. 
Whether  the  Binet-Simon  tests  or  the  ordinary  school  grades 
were  used  as  a  measure  the  results  appear  in  favor  of  the 
whites.  Perring,^  in  the  schools  of  Philadelphia,  found  twice 
as  much  retardation  among  negro  as  among  white  children, 
also  that  the  amount  of  retardation  was  greater,  being  two 
years  on  the  average  for  the  negro,  one  and  a  half  for  the  white. 
Pyle,^  as  a  result  of  psychological  tests  given  to  over  four  hun- 
dred children  of  each  race  in  various  towns  in  Missouri,  shows 
that  the  girls  in  both  races  were  better  than  the  boys,  that  there 
was  less  difference  between  negro  and  white  girls  than  there 
was  between  negro  and  white  boys ;  that  the  racial  difference 
was  greater  in  the  more  difficult  tests  than  in  the  easier  ones. 
Taking  all  tests  together,  only  one  fifth  of  the  negro  children 
did  as  well  or  better  than  the  average  of  the  white  children. 
In  a  later  series  of  tests  where  there  was  a  more  direct  measure- 
ment of  learning  capacity  as  the  effects  of  environment  were 
better  eliminated,  Pyle  says  that  the  negro  children  showed 

1  Ellis,  Man  and  Woman,  p.  446. 

*  Perring,  in  the  Psychological  Clinic,  1915,  9. 

»  Pyle,  in  the  Psychological  Bulletin,  1915,  1916. 


1 6  Psychology  of  Childhood 

from  three  quarters  to  four  fifths  the  ability  of  the  white  chil- 
dren. He  notes  also  that  the  success  of  the  negro  increases 
with  a  greater  proportion  of  white  ancestry. 

Another  finding,  that  the  racial  difference  was  less  with 
older  children  than  with  younger,  does  not  bear  out  the  con- 
clusion reached  by  Odum,^  who  states  that  the  young  negro 
child  compares  favorably  with  the  white  in  school  attainment, 
yet  that  with  the  approach  of  puberty  the  mental  growth  of 
the  negro  suffers  arrest  —  he  appears  dull  and  stupid.  On 
this  point  it  is  interesting  to  compare  these  facts :  (i)  Among 
adolescent  girls  tested  by  Baldwin  ^  the  negroes  did  only  62.4 
per  cent  as  much  learning  work  in  a  given  time  as  did  the  whites, 
and  made  245.3  per  cent  more  errors.  (2)  In  the  high  schools 
of  New  York  City,  Mayo  ^  found  that  the  median  mark  at- 
tained by  the  whites  was  66,  by  150  negroes  was  62,  with  less 
variation.  Twenty-nine  per  cent  of  the  colored  children 
reached  the  median  mark  of  the  whites.  Although  this  is  bet- 
ter than  Pyle's  one  fifth,  and  agrees  as  to  the  lessened  differ- 
ence among  the  older  children,  it  should  be  remembered  that 
the  negroes  in  the  high  school  probably  represent  a  very  much 
higher  sampling  of  their  race  than  do  the  whites.  (3)  Appar- 
ently the  rate  of  maturing  is  more  rapid  with  colored  children 
than  with  white,  a  condition  which  does  not  correlate  with  the 
highest  mental  development.  (4)  Da  Rocha  says  that  though 
less  subject  to  epilepsy,  the  colored  children  are  more  subject 
to  periodic  insanity  than  are  whites. 

Rowe,^  from  using  the  Binet-Simon  tests  with  268  Indian 
children,  declares  that  they  are  both  slower,  and  everywhere 
inferior  to  the  whites ;  also  that  they  are  weaker  in  the  kind 
of  test  involving  higher  mental  processes  than  in  those  of  a 
more  purely  mechanical  nature.   .He  adds  that  there  is  more 

»  Odum,  Mental  and  Social  Traits  of  the  Negro. 
'  Baldwin,  Journal  of  Educational  Psychology,  1913,  4. 
»  Mayo,  The  Mental  Capacity  of  the  American  Negro. 
*  Rowe,  Pedagogical  Seminary,  19 14,  21. 


Source  of  Original  Nature  j*j 

difference  between  the  Indian  and  the  white  child  than  there 
is  between  the  negro  and  the  white  child. 

These  are  interesting  pieces  of  work;  at  present  we  need 
repeated,  extensive  studies  of  a  similar  character  before  we 
can  consider  all  the  facts  as  established. 

Improvement  of  the  race  as  a  whole.  —  Granted  that 
human  races  are  much  more  alike  than  different,  that  *'  there 
is  much  overlapping  and  the  differences  in  original  natureX 
within  the  same  race  are,  except  in  extreme  cases,  many  time^ 
as  great  as  the  differences  between  races  as  a  whole,"  the  fur- 
ther question  arises  as  to  whether  the  human  race  as  such  has 
a  nature  which  differentiates  it  from  other  animals.  Has  man 
from  earliest  times  had  a  nature  that  is  approximately  the 
same?  The  differences  between  animals  and  man  may  be 
slight;  it  may  be  true,  as  Thorndike  says,  that  the  chief 
difference  between  animal  brain  and  human  brain  is  "an 
increase  in  the  number,  delicacy,  complexity,  permanence  and 
speed  of  formation  of  associations."  Again,  "  Amongst  the 
minds  of  animals  that  of  man  leads,  not  as  a  demi-god  from 
another  planet,  but  as  a  king  from  the  same  race."  But  is 
there  an  average  or  norm  for  human  traits  and  powers  which 
has  been  more  or  less  constant  since  primitive  man  appeared, 
and  is  it  different  from  that  of  the  animals  ?  To  this  question, 
too,  no  absolute  answer  can  be  given.  Up  to  within  a. few 
years  it  was  current  opinion  that  primitive  man  was  much 
closer  akin  to  the  animals  than  to  man  of  to-day,  —  that  the 
changes  in  ideals,  in  customs,  in  social  standards  and  in  in- 
dustries are  due  to  physiological  differences  in  the  brain  of 
mankind  which  have  gradually  been  evolved.  But  to-day, 
in  several  quarters,  especially  among  anthropologists,  doubt 
is  being  expressed  as  to  whether  any  fundamental  differences 
exist  between  the  original  nature  of  primitive  man  and  that 
of  the  man  of  the  twentieth  century.  The  fact  of  the  marked 
similarity  of  the  races  suggests' this  conclusion,  and  further, 
Boas  says,  expressing  doubt  as  to  the  gain  of  modern  man  in 


1 8  Psychology  of  Childhood 

intellect  and  morality  over  primitive  man,  — "  Before  we 
entered  into  the  comparison  of  the  mental  life  of  primitive 
man  and  of  civilized  man,  we  had  to  clear  away  a  number  of 
misconceptions  caused  by  the  descriptions  of  the  life  of  prim- 
itive man.  We  saw  that  the  oft-repeated  claim  that  he  has 
no  power  to  inhibit  impulses,  no  power  of  attention,  no  origi- 
nality of  thought,  no  power  of  clear  reasoning,  could  not  be 
maintained ;  and  that  all  these  faculties  are  common  to  prim- 
itive and  to  civilized  man.  .  .  .  This  led  us  to  a  brief  con- 
sideration of  the  question  whether  the  hereditary  mental 
faculty  was  improved  by  civilization,  an  opinion  that  did 
not  seem  plausible  to  us."  ^ 

Race,  then,  the  fact  of  being  a  member  of  the  human  race, 
bears  with  it  certain  capital  in  terms  of  original  nature.  Be- 
cause we  are  men  and  women  instead  of  squirrels  or  elephants, 
we  have  certain  traits,  powers,  and  possibilities ;  and  the  whole 
human  race  is  probably  far  more  on  a  level  so  far  as  this  in- 
heritable fund  of  capacity  is  concerned  than  has  been  com- 
monly supposed. 
, — ^CONCLUSIONS.  —  The  whole  point  of  view  of  this  chap- 
ter is  to  emphasize  the  facts  of  original  nature  and  equipment. 
/a  man  is  what  he  is  primarily  because  he  is  a  member  of  a 
'certain  family,  sex,  and  race.  Those  three  factors  give  him 
his  inheritance,  his  capital,  his  stock  in  trade,  and  these  birth- 
day gifts  bound  his  ultimate  achievement.  True,  environ- ^ 
ment,  training,  education,  play  their  part  in  the  production/ 
of  man  as  we  idealize  him,  but  that  part  is  conditioned  and' 
limited  by  the  nature  which  is  being  influenced.  In  other 
words,  though  Burbank  may  produce  a  prickless  thistle  by 
careful  selection,  and  though  we  may  improve  a  variety  of 
figs  immensely  by  careful  regulation  of  the  environment,  yet 
we  need  never  expect  to  gather  figs  from  thistles,  their  natures 
being  originally  so  differently  determined. 

Thomdike  writes :  '*  The  importance  to  educational  theory 

*  F.  Boas,  The  Mind  of  Primitive  Man,  p.  247. 


Source  of  Original  Nature  19 

of  a  recognition  of  the  fact  of  original  nature  and  of  exact 
knowledge  of  its  relation,  shown  in  determining  life's  progress, 
is  obvious,  lilt  is  wasteful  to  attempt  to  create  and  folly  to 
pretend  to  create  capacities  and  interests  which  are  assured 
or  denied  to  an  individual  before  he  is  born.  The  environ-/  ,  , 
ment  acts  for  the  most  part  not  as  a  creative  forceTut  as  aji 
stimulating  and  selective  force.  We  can  so  arrange  the  cir- 
cumstances of  nurture  as  to  reduce  many  undesirable  activi- 
ties by  giving  them  little  occasion  for  appearance,  an^  to  in- 
crease the  desirable  ones  by  ensuring  them  an  adequate  stim- 
ulus. We  can,  by  the  results  we  artificially  attach  to  wisdom, 
energy  or  sympathy,  select  them  for  continuance  in  individual 
lives.  But  the  results  of  our  endeavors  will  forever  be  Hmited 
as  a  whole  by  .  .  .  inborn  talents  and  defects."  ^  Nor  is  this 
limitation  of  human  possibiHties  of  growth  a  pessimistic  doc- 
trine. The  sure  realization  of  what  has  always  been  true  is 
not  pessimism,  nor  is  it  itself  any  curtailment  of  actual  at- 
tainment. When  the  differences  between  the  actual  life  of  a 
savage  in  Central  Africa  and  that  of  a  civilized  man  are  con- 
sidered, vthe  tremendous  effect  of  environment  as  a  stimu- 
lating and  selective  force  on  races  is  overwhelming'.  And 
when,  as  James  has  so  effectively  pointed  out,  the  differences 
between  the  ordinary,  everyday  life  of  an  individual  and  that 
of  the  same  individual  in  some  great  issue  of  life  are  considered, 
the  probabilities  of  unknown  and  unused  levels  of  energy  and 
force  in  every  human  creature  seem  indisputable.  The  edu- 
cator has  still  a  task  of  infinite  magnitude  amid  unknown 
potentialities,  and  to  make  due  allowance  for  the  sources 
and  limitations  of  original  nature  will  but  make  his  work 
more  effective  and  less  wasteful.  The  recognition  of  the 
respective  parts  played  by  nature  and  nurture  make  it  im- 
perative for  him  to  know  the  child  mind  in  terms  of  its 
equipment,  and  to  know  the  laws  by  means  of  which  it  may 
be  changed. 

1  Thorndike,  Educational  Psychology,  p.  44.     1903  edition. 


20  Psychology  of  Childhood 

Exercises 

1.  a.  In  studying  heredity,  one  could  easily  breed  twenty 
generations  of  mice  or  rabbits ;  twenty  human  generations  would 
take  over  600  years.  This  illustrates  one  difficulty  in  the  way  of 
accurate  knowledge  of  human  inheritance.  What  others  occur 
to  you  ? 

h.  To  prove  Mendelian  inheritance  in  two  simple,  unvariable 
units,  we  need  16  offspring,  for  three  units  we  should  need  64; 
what  further  difficulty  does  that  suggest  ? 

c.  In  what  way  does  Woods'  study  escape  some  of  the  diffi- 
culties you  have  mentioned  ? 

2.  a.  What  facts  about  immediate  family  inheritance  would 
a  teacher  be  wise  to  discover  about  the  children  in  her  charge  ? 

b.  What  facts  should  any  one  offering  vocational  guidance  find 
out  about  the  heredity  of  the  young  people? 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  Considering  merely  the  facts  of  mental  equipment,  what  is 
your  attitude  towards  coeducation  ?    Why  ? 

2.  Is  there  any  reason  for  believing  that  women  are  more  tactful 
than  men  ?    Explain. 

3.  In  what  school  subjects  would  you  expect  girls  and  boys 
respectively  to  excel  ?    Why  ? 

References  for  Reading 

E.  L.  Thorndike,  Educational  Psychology,  chs.  3,  4,  5. 

F.  Galton,  Hereditary  Genius. 
J.  A.  Thomson,  Heredity,  ch.  6. 

H.  B.  Thompson,  Mental  Traits  of  Sex. 
F.  Boas,  The  Mind  of  Primitive  Man. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  ORIGINAL  NATURE 

DEPENDENCE    ON    PHYSIOLOGICAL    STRUCTURE. 

—  The  inheritance  of  an  individual,  whether  it  be  that  of 
family,  sex,  or  race,  is  in  terms  of  physiological  struc-  what  is  the 
ture,  not  in  terms  of  mental  states.     A  baby  is  not  Pf^v^icai 
heir  to  any  ideas,  his  emotions  or  ideals  are  not  ready-  mental 
made,  he  does  not  inherit  consciousness  as  such;  f^e^edity? 
he  does  inherit  a  complicated  system  of  neurones  acting  and 
developing  according  to  certain  laws  of  growth.     The  various 
theories  as  to  the  interaction  of  brain  and  mind,  happenings 
in  the  synapses  and  states  of  consciousness  need  not  be  entered 
upon  here.     For  our  purpose  it  is  enough  to  state  that  any 
individual's  original  nature  is  related  in  some  very  close  way 
to  the  action  of  his  nervous  system.     A  child  acts  as  a  human 
being  rather  than  as  an  animal  because  he  inherits  a  human 
nervous  system;  he  is  interested  more  in  things  than  in 
people,  is  pugnacious  and  matter-of-fact  because  he  inherits 
the  nervous  system  of  a  male ;  he  is  a  musician  rather  than  a 
business  man  because  he  inherits  the  nervous  system  of  a  Bach. 
No  matter  how  general  the  trait  may  be,  no  matter  how  minute 
and  unimportant  the  characteristic,  its  presence  is  dependent 
on  some  connection  of  the  neurones. 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  go  into  a  detailed  description  of 
the  physiology  of  the  brain  and  spinal  cord.  It  is  perhaps 
sufficient  to  recall  a  few  important  facts  from  general  psychol- 
ogy. The  nervous  system  is  composed  of  neurones  of  three 
types :  those  that  receive,  the  afferent ;  those  that  effect 
action,  the  efferent;  and  those  that  connect,  the  associative. 


22  Psychology  of  Childhood 

The  meeting  places  of  these  neurones  are  the  synapses.  All 
neurones  have  the  three  characteristics  of  sensitivity,  con- 
ductivity, and  modifiabihty.  In  order  for  conduct  or  feeling 
or  intellect  to  be  present  at  least  two  neurones  must  be  active, 
and  in  all  but  a  few  of  the  human  activities  many  more  are 
involved.  The  possibility  of  conduct  or  intelligence  depends 
upon  the  connections  at  the  synapses,  —  upon  the  possibihty 
of  the  current  affecting  neurones  in  a  certain  definite  way. 
The  possession  of  an  "  original  nature,"  then,  means  the 
possession,  as  a  matter  of  inheritance,  of  certain  connections 
between  neurones,  the  possession  of  certain  synapses  which 
ace  in  fimctional  contact  and  across  which  a  current  may  pass 
merely  as  a  matter  of  structure.  Just  why  certain  synapses 
should  be  thus  connected  is  the  whole  question  of  heredity. 
Two  factors  seem  to  affect  the  functional  contact  of  a  synapse, 
—  first,  proximity  of  the  neurone  ends,  and  second,  some  sort 
of  permeability  which  makes  a  current  travel  on  one  rather 
than  another  of  two  neurones  equally  near  together  in  space. 
This  proximity  and  permeability  are  both  provided  for  by 
the  structure  and  constitution  of  the  nervous  system.  It 
should  be  noted  that  the  connection  of  neurones  is  not  a  one- 
to-one  afifair,  but  the  multiplicity  of  fibrils  provided  by  original 
nature  makes  it  possible  for  one  afferent  neurone  to  discharge 
into  many  neurones,  and  for  one  efferent  neurone  to  receive 
the  current  from  many  neurones.  Thus  the  individual  when  1 
born  is  equipped  with  potentialities  of  character,  intellect,  / 
and  conduct,  because  of  the  pre-formed  connections  or  tend-/ 
encies  to  connections  present  in  his  nervous  system. 

TYPES  OF  ORIGINAL  RESPONSES.  —  These  unlearned 
tendencies  which  make  up  the  original  nature  of  the  human 
race  are  usually  classified  into  automatic  or  physiological 
actions,  reflexes,  instincts,  and  capacities.  Automatic  actions 
are  such  as  those  controlling  the  heart-beats,  digestive  and 
intestinal  movements;  the  contraction  of  the  pupil  of  the 
eye  from  light,  sneezing,  swallowing,  etc.,  are  reflexes;   imi- 


The  Characteristics  of  Original  Nature  23 

tation,  fighting,  and  fear  are  instincts,  while  capacities  refer 
to  those  more  subtle  traits  by  means  of  which  an  individual 
becomes  a  good  linguist,  or  is  tactful,  or  gains  skill  in  handling 
tools.  However,  there  is  no  sharp  line  of  division  between 
these  various  unlearned  tendencies;  what  one  psychologist 
calls  a  reflex  or  a  series  of  reflexes,  another  will  call  an  instinct. 
It  seems  better  to  consider  them  as  of  the  same  general  char- 
acter but  differing  from  each  other  in  simplicity,  definiteness, 
uniformity  of  response,  variableness  among  individuals,  and 
modifiability.  They  range  from  movements  such  as  the  action 
of  the  blood  vessels  to  those  concerned  in  hunting  and  col- 
lecting; from  the  simple,  definite,  uniform  knee-jerk,  which 
is  very  similar  in  all  people  and  open  to  very  little  modifica- 
tion, to  the  capacity  for  scholarship,  which  is  extremely  com- 
plex, vague  as  to  definition,  variable  both  as  to  manifestation 
in  one  individual  and  amounts  amongst  people  in  general, 
and  is  open  to  almost  endless  modification.  This  fund  of 
unlearned  tendencies  is  the  capital  with  which  each  child 
starts,  the  capital  which  makes  education  and  progress  pos- 
sible, as  well  as  the  capital  which  limits  the  extent  to  which 
progress  and  development  in  any  line  may  proceed. 

CHARACTERISTICS      OF      ORIGINAL     RESPONSES. 
They  are  mechanical.  —  These  unlearned  tendencies  which 
constitute  the  original  nature  of  the  child  have  what  are 
certain  characteristics  in  common;    because  they  ^^^/^'^J: 

'  •'    actenstics 

are  a  function  of  the  nervous  system  they  are  of  original 
mechanical  and  constant.  They  all  exist  because  tendencies? 
of  connections  in  the  nervous  system,  and  therefore  they  are 
unconscious,  and  uncontrolled  in  their  initiation.  The  ner- 
vous system  acts  like  a  machine,  —  indeed  it  is  a  machine, 
and  in  so  far  as  it  acts  independent  of  training  or  experience, 
the  result  must^be  mechanical.  A  current  is  started  in  the 
retina  of  a  nine-months-old  baby  by  a  glittering  object  held  in 
front  of  him ;  compelled  by  the  structure  of  his  nervous  sys- 
tem he  must  snatch  at  it,  not  because  he  wants  it,  not  because 


24  Psychology  of  Childhood 

he  wills  to  do  so,  but  because  he  is  thus  made,  he  cannot  help 
it.  Not  at  all  a  matter  of  volition,  or  of  conscious  attention, 
the  act  is  merely  a  matter  of  the  connection  of  neurones.  In 
so  far  as  tendencies  are  unlearned,  this  must  be  true,  whether 
the  tendencies  concerned  are  the  simple  definite  reflexes,  or 
whether  they  are  the  more  complex  and  vague  capacities. 
This  is  an  important  fact  for  the  student  of  child  psychology ; 
for  many  of  the  mistakes  in  the  training  of  children  are  due 
to  a  lack  of  comprehension  of  this  principle.  A  child  is  not 
responsible  for  his  conduct,  thoughts,  or  feelings  in  so  far  as 
they  are  a  manifestation  of  these  unlearned  tendencies;  he 
acts  merely  as  a  machine,  controlled  absolutely  by  its  mech- 
anism until  experience,  learning  in  some  form,  affects  him.  Of 
course,  in  the  human  animal,  experience  plays  a  part  very 
soon  because  of  the  plasticity  of  the  organism ;  but,  until  it 
does,  no  responsibility  can  rest  on  the  child,  and  experience 
can  play  no  part  until  the  tendency  has  at  least  shown  itself 
as  a  result  of  the  functioning  of  his  nervous  system. 

They  are  constant.  —  These  unlearned  tendencies  are  con- 
stant in  the  sense  that  in  the  same  organism,  the  same  stimu- 
lus must  induce  the  same  response,  the  same  neurone-action 
must  produce  the  same  result ;  and,  conversely,  an  identical 
response  is  given  only  to  one  stimulus.  This  fact  must  neces- 
sarily be  true  because  of  the  structure  of  the  nervous  system 
and  the  dependence  of  tendencies  on  the  functional  contact 
of  the  synapses.  That  this  principle  seems  to  be  often  con- 
tradicted is  due  to  two  facts.  First :  situations  which  on 
the  surface  seem  the  same  are  really  different,  and  hence  the 
difference  in  the  response.  To  a  boy  looking  on  at  a  group 
of  other  boys  stoning  a  cat,  the  stimulus  is  very  different  from 
what  it  would  be  were  he  a  member  of  the  group.  A  ball 
thrown  to  a  baby  by  an  adult  offers  a  very  different  situation 
from  the  same  ball  thrown  to  the  same  baby  by  a  child  of  his 
own  size.  A  cat  sniffing  at  a  child  seated  alone  on  the  floor 
may  produce  a  very  different  response  from  what  it  would 


The  Characteristics  of  Original  Nature  25 

were  the  child  in  its  mother's  lap.  Situations  the  same  so 
far  as  the  rough,  observed  outlines  are  concerned  may  be  very 
different  when  all  the  details  are  considered,  and  hence  call 
out  very  different  responses  in  the  organism. 

Second:  the  apparently  same  situation  causes  different 
responses  because  the  organism  is  not  the  same  but  different. 
This  difference  in  the  organism  may  be  due  to  a  number  of 
causes,  —  differences  in  nutrition,  in  fatigue,  in  mind's  set, 
in  the  simultaneous  activity  of  other  instincts,  in  experience, 
—  all  these  change  an  organism,  and  therefore  must  make  the 
response  to  the  same  situation  a  different  one.  A  child's 
response  to  a  kind  word  may  one  day  be  a  smile,  and  the 
next  an  impatient  twitch  of  the  shoulders  and  a  scowl,  the 
child  being  different  on  the  two  occasions.  A  boy  in  the 
primary  grades  responds  to  the  commendation  of  the  teacher 
by  added  efforts,  though  the  same  boy  in  the  high  school  may 
respond  by  a  sneer.  This  difference  in  response  is  not  a  mere 
matter  of  chance ;  original  nature  is  not  erratic  and  variable 
in  the  sense  that  it  is  not  to  be  depended  on.  The  same  situa- 
tion presented  to  the  same  organism  must  produce  the  same 
response ;  but  situations  are  complex,  and  the  organism  is  a 
changing  thing.  However,  because  of  their  dependence  on 
structure,  a  careful  analysis  of  the  situation  and  a  knowledge 
of  the  individual  will  make  it  possible  to  predict  behavior 
with  an  ever  increasing  degree  of  accuracy,  (it  is  because  of 
the  likeness  of  human  beings  to  each  other  due  to  their  com- 
mon racial  inheritance,  and  to  the  fact  that  this  original 
nature  can  be  depended  on  to  be  constant  in  its  manifesta- 
tion, that  group  teaching  is  at  all  possible.  In  fact,  were  the 
responses  due  to  original  nature  not  predictable,  education  as 
we  know  it  to-day  could  not  exist.  Added  knowledge  of  the 
original  equipmei^t  of  children  and  of  the  effect  of  sleep, 
nutrition,  age,  and  various  kinds  of  experiences  on  the  organism 
will  increase  the  power  of  educators  to  foretell  the  response 
of  any  given  individual  or  group  to  any  given  situation.    At 


26  Psychology  of  Childhood 

present  both  teachers  and  parents  are  suffering  from  a  lack 
of  knowledge  in  all  these  lines. 

They  are  delayed.  —  Another  characteristic  true  of  the 
majority  of  these  original  tendencies  is  that  they  are  delayed, 
that  is,  they  are  not  present  at  birth.  Then,  as  Pillsbury  says, 
"  one  may  recognize  the  food-taking  instincts,  the  vocal  pro- 
tests at  discomfort,  but  relatively  few  others."  Of  course, 
the  physiological  operations  necessary  for  the  life  of  the  in- 
fant are  active,  but  practically  all  of  the  so-called  instincts 
and  capacities  appear  later.  Their  appearance  is  dependent 
on  the  growth  and  ripening  of  the  connections  between  neu- 
rones. No  tendency  can  appear  until  the  synapses  between 
the  neurones  which  arouse  it  are  in  functional  contact. 

In  discussing  this  point  of  the  delay  in  the  appearance  of 
original  tendencies,  it  has  been  customary  to  talk  of  them  as 
if  they  appeared  suddenly,  certain  ages  being  the  time  above 
all  others  for  certain  instincts  and  capacities  to  mature.  Thus 
we  hear  of  the  "  sensory  "  child  of  kindergarten  age,  her 
"  motor  "  sister  in  the  primary  school,  her  ''  rote-memorizing  " 
friends  in  the  grammar  grades,  and  her  ''  reasoning  "  adoles- 
cent brothers  and  sisters.  Similarly,  at  three  or  four  we  are 
told  to  expect  fears  to  be  dominant,  doll  play  at  eight,  collect- 
ing at  nine,  the  gang  instinct  at  eleven,  the  sex  instinct  in  the 
teens,  and  so  on.  That  there  is  somewhat  of  truth  in  these 
statements  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but  as  they  stand,  they  are 
often  misleading.  It  seems  very  improbable  that  any  instinct 
is  absent  this  week  —  or  year  even  —  and  present  the  next. 
From  all  the  studies  that  have  been  made  —  whether  of  the 
simple  and  definite  instincts,  or  the  more  complex  and  vague 
capacities  —  the  law  seems  to  be  one  of  gradual  rather  than  of 
sudden  maturing.  It  is  probably  true,  as  Miss  Burk  says, 
that  nine  is  the  age  when  the  greatest  interest  in  collections 
is  shown,  but  it  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  children 
begin  making  collections  at  five  or  six.  We  know  now  that 
the  sex  instinct  is  of  long  and  slow  development  all  through 


The  Characteristics  of  Original  Nature  27 

childhood  rather  than  bursting  into  being  during  adolescence. 
Even  four-year-olds  show  the  power  of  purposive  thinking 
despite  the  fact  that  the  high-school  age  is  supposed  to  be  the 
time  for  reasoning.  Little  six-year-old  children  who  have  to 
care  for  younger  brothers  and  sisters  do  so  with  all  the  serious- 
ness of  the  adult ;  and  many  refugee  boys  of  nine  and  ten  have 
had  to  assume  much  of  the  responsibiUty  which  is  supposed 
to  come  with  maturity.  Children  tested  from  year  to  year 
show  no  time  at  which  there  is  so  sudden  an  increase  in  power 
that  any  certain  age  could  be  chosen  as  the  one  at  which  the 
instinct  ''  appears."  Of  course,  the  interference  of  training 
and  environment  as  a  factor  is  undeniable ;  but  the  conclusion 
that  though  it  is  true  that  original  tendencies  are  delayed  they 
are  also  very  gradual  in  their  maturing,  is  not  invalidated. 

They  are  transitory.  —  General  psychology  also  teaches 
that  instincts  are  transitory,  that  by  the  laws  of  their  own  de- 
velopment, uninfluenced  by  what  happens  to  them,  they  will 
wane  and  pass  away.  The  general  implication  of  the  dis- 
cussion is,  that  these  original  tendencies  are  present  and  active 
but  for  a  short  time,  and  then  pass,  unless  they  are  fixed  as 
habits.  Teachers  are  warned  "  to  detect  the  moment  of  the 
instinctive  readiness  "  for  each  subject,  to  ''  seize  the  wave 
of  the  pupil's  interest .  .  .  before  its  ebb  has  come  so  that  knowl- 
edge may  be  got  and  a  habit  of  skill  acquired."  The  con- 
clusion was  that  "  most  instincts  are  implanted  for  the  sake 
of  giving  rise  to  habits,  and  that,  this  purpose  once  accom- 
plished, the  instincts  themselves,  as  such,  have  no  raison 
d'etre  in  the  psychical  economy,  and  consequently  fadeaway."^ 

Against  this  idea  Thorndike  points  out  that  ''  Two  forces 
other  than  the  law  of  transitoriness,  must  be  considered,  be- 
fore attributing  the  ebbs  in  man's  activities  so  exclusively 
to  it.  The  first  IS  the  force  of  new  situations,  —  changed  cir- 
cumstances about  man  — rather  than  a  changed  nature  in 
him.  The  second  is  the  force  of  changes  in  his  nature  due  to 
1  James,  Principles  of  Psychology,  Vol.  II,  pp.  401  >  402. 


28  Psychology  of  Childhood 

special  acquisitions  —  learned  habits  —  not  to  mere  losses 
of  transitory  instincts  and  capacities."  ^  If  the  adult  was 
surrounded  by  the  same  situations  which  surround  the  child, 
if  society  expected  no  more  of  him,  —  meted  out  its  approval 
and  disapproval  as  it  does  to  the  child,  would  he  not  exhibit 
many  of  the  instincts  and  capacities  that  are  supposed  to  be 
the  heritage  of  the  child  alone,  and  to  pass  away  ?  And  again, 
the  change  in  activities  may  be  but  the  same  fundamental 
instinct,  perfected,  turned  into  new  channels  because  of  the 
added  satisfaction  gained  by  such  changes. 

That  these  two  factors  rather  than  transitoriness  of  original 
tendencies  do  explain  much  of  the  difference  between  the 
activities  of  children  and  adults  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  it 
is  hard  to  find  instincts  that  are  transitory  —  that  have  really 
gone.  Give  them  but  the  opportunity  and  the  so-called 
childish  interests  and  instincts  appear  in  most  adults.  The 
play  tendencies  —  the  theaters,  moving-picture  shows,  base- 
ball and  football  games,  bridge  parties  and  dances  prove  their 
existence  in  the  adult.  The  love  of  the  mysterious  —  ini- 
tiations into  all  sorts  of  societies  and  fraternities  prove  it  still 
has  its  attractions.  Interest  in  novelty  and  movements  — 
the  widespread  interest  in  aeroplanes,  and  wireless  telegraphy, 
the  gorgeous  displays  of  electric  signs  in  the  big  cities,  the 
rapid  and  extraordinary  changes  in  styles  of  women's  apparel, 
all  these  testify  to  the  presence  of  this  instinct  for  novelty  and 
movement.  How  many  adults  are  there  who  are  not  col- 
lecting or  hoarding  something?  How  many  can  endure  a 
nudge  or  a  disdainful  look  from^a  peer  without  feeling  the 
throb  of  the  pugnacious  instinct?  The  migratory  instinct 
still  shows  itself  in  the  adult  fondness  for  change  of  residence 
—  witness  "  moving  day  "  —  and  in  his  love  of  travel ;  fear 
of  solitude,  of  snakes  and  large  animals  still  persists  despite 
the  influence  of  training  and  experience.  That  inborn  tend- 
encies do  unfold,  flourish,  and  decay  according  to  la;ws  of 
*  Thorndike,  Original  Nature  of  Man,  p.  265. 


The  Characteristics  of  Original  Nature  29 

inner  growth  is  undoubtedly  true,  but  the  unfolding  is  much 
more  protracted  and  the  decay  much  less  perceptible  than  it 
has  been  customary  to  suppose.  This  is  especially  true  of  the 
common  fundamental  human  traits  and  interests.  If  this  is 
true,  the  educator  can  no  longer  shift  so  much  of  the  burden 
of  responsibility  on  to  the  shoulders  of  a  Nature  that  brings 
possibilities  on  the  stage  of  Life  only  to  remove  them.  The 
traits,  interests,  and  capacities  that  are  necessary  to  form  into 
character,  conduct,  and  intellect  are  in  the  possession  of  every 
child  for  years ;  the  responsibility  for  their  use  and  develop- 
ment rests  with  the  educator. 

They  are  crude.  —  Another  characteristic  of  original  re- 
sponses is  their  crudity.  Children  are  often  called  ''  little 
savages,"  and  so  far  as  their  inherited  make-up  is  concerned, 
that  is  what  they  are.  ''  Man's  original  equipment  dates 
far  back  and  adapts  him,  directly,  only  for  such  a  life  as  might 
be  led  by  a  family  group  of  wild  men  among  the  brute  forces 
of  land,  water,  storm  and  sun,  fruit  and  berries,  animals  and 
other  family  groups  of  wild  men."  ^  The  original  traits  and 
interests  of  man  are  not  such  as  fit  him  to  live  in  a  civilized 
community  in  the  twentieth  century ,  and  therefore  the  fact  that 
these  tendencies  are  modifiable  is  of  tremendous  importance. 
On  this  fact  alone  rests  all  the  civilization  of  the  world,  all  the 
culture  of  the  ages,  all  the  promise  of  the  future.  Here  is  the 
field  and  the  function  of  education :  to  seize  upon  this  capital 
and  use  it;  to  modify  and  direct  the  original  capacities  and 
instincts  of  children  so  that-  they  are  fitted  to  live  in  the  best 
which  adult  society  has  to  offer,  to  appreciate  and  to  add  to  it. 

METHODS  OF  MODIFYING  ORIGINAL  NATURE. 
—  "  The  indiscriminate  manipulation  of  objects  is  modified 
into  instructive  play  with  sand  piles,  blocks  or  How  may 
ball ;  and  later  into  intelHgent  use  of  tools,  pencil,  instincts  he 
pen,  typewriter,  engine,  printing  press,  and  the  ^°  '  ^^ 
like.  Thus  the  satisfyingness  which  originally  accompanies 
1  Thorndike,  Education,  pp.  91-92. 


30  Psychology  of  Childhood 

notice  and  approval  by  anybody  is  redirected  to  form  special 
attachments  to  the  approval  of  parents,  teachers,  one's  own 
higher  nature,  and  heroes,  living  and  dead,  who  are  chosen 
as  ideal  judges.  Thus  the  original  incitement  of  '  another 
trying  to  get  the  food  or  victory  or  admiration  which  we  crave  * 
is  replaced  gradually  by  rivalry  with  others  in  all  work  and 
play,  then  by  rivalry  with  our  own  past  records  or  with 
ideal  standards.  Thus  out  of  *  collecting  and  hoarding  at 
random  whatever  is  handy  and  attractive  to  the  crude  in- 
terests in  color,  glitter  and  novelty,'  habits  of  intelligent  scien- 
tific collecting  and  arranging  may  be  formed,  and  the  interest 
in  collecting  may  be  made  a  stimulus  to  getting  knowledge 
about  the  objects  collected.  Thus  the  original  interests,  the 
tendencies  to  be  satisfied  by  and  annoyed  by,  to  like  and  dis- 
like, are  turned  into  acquired  interests  in  efficient  workman- 
ship, kindly  fellowship,  the  welfare  of  one's  family,  friends, 
community  and  nation,  and  finally  into  the  love  of  truth, 
justice  and  the  happiness  of  mankind  as  a  whole."  ^  The  work 
of  education  is  largely  a  matter  of  modification;  few  if  any 
original  tendencies  are  absolutely  useless,  few  are  so  acceptable 
that  they  can  be  retained  just  as  they  are.  The  vast  majority 
of  them  need  to  be  modified,  higher  pleasures  substituted  for 
lower,  certain  elements  eliminated  by  withholding  the  situa- 
tion that  calls  them  out  when  they  will  perish  from  disuse, 
or  by  following  their  manifestation  with  pain  and  discomfort 
of  some  kind,  fixing  the  desirable  traits  or  phases  or  elements 
by  rewards  or  satisfaction. 

By  disuse  or  stimulation.  —  One  method  of  controlling 
an  instinct  is  to  deal  with  the  situation  which  evokes  the  re- 
sponse. The  stimulus  may  be  withheld  to  prevent  the  re- 
sponse recurring  —  illustrated  in  keeping  dangerous  but  at- 
tractive objects  out  of  a  baby's  reach,  or  it  may  be  provided 
in  superabundance  so  as  to  increase  the  likeHhood  of  a  response 
—  illustrated  by  surrounding  the  kindergarten  child  with  all 

^  Thomdike,  Education,  pp.  92-93. 


The  Characteristics  of  Original  Nature  31 

sorts  of  suggestive  implements.  The  former  method,  known 
as  disuse,  is  obviously  not  a  constructive  way  of  training  nor- 
mal children,  since  no  guarantee  is  given  that  the  whole  en- 
vironment will  be  permanently  emptied  of  such  stimuh,  nor 
is  any  provision  made  for  teaching  children  how  to  respond 
when  the  inevitable  situation  is  felt.  In  an  emergency,  or 
with  very  young,  sick,  or  abnormal  subjects  the  method  of 
disuse  may  be  necessary.  For  a  rich,  full  life,  the  method  of 
stimulation  is  always  indicated. 

By  unpleasant  or  pleasant  results.  —  A  second  method 
of  control  is  to  attach  such  consequences  to  the  response  that 
on  a  recurrence  of  the  situation  the  response  is  either  more  or 
less  likely  to  be  made.  Thus,  love  of  being  a  cause,  and  ma- 
nipulation are  developed  by  the  reward  of  seeing  the  object 
made  or  changed,  and  indiscriminate  grabbing  is  checked  by 
the  pain  of  the  burn  or  the  slap  that  follows.  In  either  case, 
the  reward,  satisfaction,  pleasure  feeling,  or  the  punishment, 
dissatisfaction,  pain  feeling,  needs  to  be  closely  associated 
in  the  child's  own  consciousness  with  the  situation-response 
series  rather  than  with  accidental  extraneous  circumstances, 
or  with  the  person  who  intensifies  the  affective  tone  of  the 
results ;  also,  the  younger  the  child  the  more  closely  in  time 
must  the  consequences  be  felt. 

By  substitution  or  sublimation.  —  A  third  method  of  con- 
trol, known  as  substitution,  attempts  to  reconstruct  the  situa- 
tion-response series  by  forming  a  habit  of  responding  in 
another  than  the  primitive  way  whenever  the  situation  occurs. 
Thus,  when  hungry  and  within  sight,  smell,  and  reach  of  food, 
children  must  learn  to  wait  and  help  themselves  in  mannerly 
fashion  rather  than  to  grab,  to  eat  rather  than  stuff  and  bolt 
their  food,  eventually  to  dine  rather  than  to  eat.  A  special 
form  of  this  substitution  method  is  known  as  sublimation. 
Here  the  emotional  tone  accompanying  an  original  situation- 
response  series  is  transferred  to  another  complex  and  utilized 
in  other,  higher  ways.     Thus,  the  feelings  of  anger  that  might 


32  Psychology  of  Childhood 

assist  in  striking  out  when  pushed  or  interfered  with  bodily 
may  be  directed  into  energetic  fighting  for  a  cause,  through 
newspaper  publicity,  speeches  in  the  legislature,  or  similar 
means.  And  the  feeling  of  derision  or  repugnance  that  by 
original  nature  is  present  when  looking  at  anybody  physically 
grotesque,  awkward,  or  deformed,  may  be  transferred  to  the 
mental  contemplation  of  anything  morally  ugly;  while  by 
substitution,  the  response  of  sympathy  may  be  felt  in  the  first 
situation  and  helpful  action  follow. 

This  stimulation  or  disuse,  reward  or  punishment,  sub- 
stitution and  sublimation  as  methods  of  awakening,  strength- 
ening, or  redirecting  original  nature  does  not  wait  until  the 
child  reaches  school  age,  but  begins  in  earliest  babyhood; 
however,  the  pull  and  power  of  original  nature  is  still  strong 
during  the  child's  school  years,  and  it  is  the  business  of  the 
teacher  to  make  use  of  the  energy,  the  tendencies  which  are 
there.  To  ignore  them  is  wasteful,  and  may  be  definitely 
harmful.  They  are  there  to  be  used,  neither  to  be  ignored, 
nor  just  accepted.  That  education  which  knows  what  an 
individual  will  do  apart  from  training,  which  makes  use  of 
natural  interests  and  motives  instead  of  forcing  artificial  ones, 
which  works  with  rather  than  against  original  nature,  that  edu- 
cation will  succeed  in  satisfying  the  deepest,  most  lasting, 
biggest  human  wants. 

REASONS  FOR  DELAYEDNESS  AND  TRANSITORI- 
NESS  OF  INSTINCTS.  Recapitulation  theory.  —  One  ex- 
.  planation  of  the  very  widespread  reliance  and  em- 
theory  of  phasis  on  the  transitoriness  and  delayedness  of 
recapitu-  original  nature  has  been  the  general  acceptance 
of  the  doctrine  of  recapitulation  as  the  explanation 
of  the  order  of  development  of  instincts  and  capacities.  The 
theory  sets  forth  that  the  various  instincts,  powers,  and 
capacities  appear  in  the  individual  in  the  same  order  as  they 
did  in  the  race,  their  strength  being  determined  by  their  age 
and  their  importance  to  the  race.     The  following  quotations 


The  Characteristics  of  Original  Nature  33 

express  the  theory  as  it  has  been  held.  Agassiz  said  ...  ^  "  the 
phases  of  development  of  all  living  animals  correspond  to  the 
order  of  succession  of  their  extinct  representatives."  "  The 
individual  from  conception  to  senescence,  follows  the  order  of 
development  of  the  race."  ^  .  .  .  *'  the  child  ontogenetically  re- 
capitulating the  phylogenetic  development  of  the  race  craves 
communion  with  nature,"  ^  .  .  .  "  ontogenetic  development 
is  recapitulatory.  Each  individual  passes  through  the  stages 
through  which  its  phylum  has  passed,"  ^  ..."  the  child's  de- 
velopment is  only  a  condensed  index  of  what  took  place  on 
the  larger  plan  of  race  history."  *'  In  play  every  mood  and 
movement  is  instinct  with  heredity.  Thus  we  rehearse  the 
activities  of  our  ancestors,  back  we  know  not  how  far,  and 
repeat  their  life  work  in  summative  and  adumbrated  ways. 
It  is  reminiscent,  albeit  unconsciously,  of  our  line  of  descent, 
—  and  each  is  the  key  to  the  other.  .  .  .  Thus  stage  by  stage 
we  re-enact  their  (our  ancestors')  lives.  Once  in  the  phylon 
many  of  these  activities  were  elaborated  in  the  Hfe  and  death 
struggle  for  existence.  Now  the  elements  and  combinations 
oldest  in  the  muscle  history  of  the  race  are  re-represented 
earliest  in  the  individual,  and  those  later  follow  in  order."  ^ 
President  G.  Stanley  Hall  is  the  most  ardent  advocate  of  the 
theory  in  this  country  and  all  his  writings  contain  references 
to  it.  It  is  practically  the  controUing  principle  in  his  dis- 
cussion of  Adolescence  in  the  two- volume  book  of  that  name. 
Evidence  stated  and  criticized.  —  The  evidence  offered  for 
the  belief  that  **  ontogeny  recapitulates  phylogeny  "  may 
be  grouped  under  three  heads.  First  that  relating  to 
physical  recapitulation  and  derived  largely  from  embryology. 

1  F.  L.  Burk,  From  Fundamental  to  Accessory  in  the  Development  of 
Nervous  System  and  of  Movements,  Ped.  Sem.,  Vol.  6,  p.  36. 

2  F.  E.  Bolton,  Hydro-Psychoses,  A.  J.  P.,  Vol.  10,  p.  227. 
'  G.  E.  Dawson,  Psychic  Rudiments  and  Morality,  p.  189. 

*  J.  W.  Slaughter,  The  Moon  in  Childhood  and  Folk-Lore,  A.  J.  P.,  Vol.  13, 
p.  294. 

6  G.  S.  Hall,  Adolescence,  Vol.  i,  pp.  202,  203. 

D 


34  -Psychology  of  Childhood 

The  claim  is  that  as  the  growth  of  the  body  follows  race  de- 
velopment that  of  behavior  does  also.  "  The  essential  stages 
What  ^^  human  development  resemble  those  of  other  ani- 

reasons  are  mals.  ...  But  SO  close  are  the  resemblances  among 
^insubpln  ^^^  early  embryonic  stages  that  the  differences  are 
of  this  almost  unrecognizable.     Some  one  has  said  that 

theory?  ^^^  some  time  no  one  would  be  able  to  tell 
whether  a  given  embryo  might  turn  out  a  Jrog  or  a  ghi- 
losojilier."  ^  Romanes  says  that  when  man's  "  animality 
becomes  established,  he  exhibits  the  fundamental  anatomical 
qualities  which  characterize  such  lowly  animals  as  pol>^s 
and  jelly-fish.  And  even  when  he  is  marked  off  as  a  verte- 
brate, it  cannot  be  said  whether  he, is  to  be  a  fish,  a  reptile,  a 
bird,  or  a  beast.  Later  on  it  becomes  evident  he  is  to  be  a 
mammal,  but  not  till  later  still  can  it  be  said  to  which  order 
of  mammals  he  belongs."  ^  It  is  told  of  Professor  His,  that 
on  viewing  a  slightly  abnormal  embryo,  known  to  be  human, 
he  "  asserted  roundly  that  Krause  (who  had  shown  it),  must 
have  made  a  mistake,  and  that  his  specimen  was  a  chick  and 
not  a  human  one  at  all."  ^ 

That  there  is  some  likeness  between  the  human  embryo  and 
those  of  lower  animals  seems  incontrovertible,  but  expert 
biologists  of  to-day  do  not  find  the  close  identity  that  these 
quotations  claim  exists.  Thorndike  in  summing  up  their 
opinions  says :  "  Only  in  rough  outlines  and  in  the  case  of  a 
fraction  of  bodily  organs  does  nature  make  an  individual  from 
the  fertilized  ovum  by  the  same  series  of  changes  by  which  it 
made  his  species  from  the  primitive  protozoa.  . . .  No  one  would 
mistake  the  human  embryo  at  any  stage  for  any  adult  fish  or 
reptile  or  mammal.  No  one  can  tell  from  ontogeny  what  the 
phylogeny  of  man  has  been  in  the  great  changes  from  inverte- 
brate to  vertebrate,  from  early  generalized  mammal  to  primate, 

*  F,  E,  Bolton,  Principles  of  Education,  p.  70. 

2  Darwin  and  after  Darwin,  Vol.  i,  p.  119. 

'  Marshall,  Biological  Lectures  and  Addresses,  p.  250. 


The  Characteristics  of  Original  Nature  35 

from  early  primate  to  man."  ^  It  is  also  true  that  if  behavior 
recapitulates  race  history,  then  the  part  of  the  body  upon 
which  it  depends,  namely,  the  nervous  system,  should  show 
the  clearest  signs  of  recapitulation,  and  this  is  just  the  part 
that  shows  the  least  likeness  to  such  an  order.  The  course  of 
development  of  an  individual's  brain  does  not  coincide  at  all 
with  its  course  of  development  in  the  race;  how  then  is  it 
possible  for  instincts  or  capacities  to  recapitulate  at  all  closely 
the  order  of  manifestation  in  the  race?  Moreover,  at  birth, 
a  human  brain  has  long  passed  any  stage  that  could  possibly 
be  called  fish  or  early  mammal.  Why  then  try  to  trace  in 
infancy,  or  in  still  later  years,  recapitulations  of  aquatic  life 
when  the  organ  governing  behavior,  the  brain,  is  not  at  that 
same  time  at  all  Hke  that  of  the  fish  ?  It  must  also  be  borne 
in  mind  that  even  if  there  were  exact  parallelism  between  the 
development  of  the  human  embryo  and  that  of  the  lower  ani- 
mals, recapitulation  would  not  be  proved.  The  embryo  must 
develop  somehow,  and  it  seems  extremely  likely  that  in  nature 
there  has  been  evolved  a  general  method  for  the  development, 
the  easiest  and  most  economical;  and  that  because  it  is  a 
general  method,  traces  of  it  can  be  found  all  up  the  animal 
scale.  This  is  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  in  instances  where 
recapitulation  seems  clearest,  the  way  taken  for  the  develop- 
ment is  the  most  simple  —  most  economical,  apart  from  any 
tendency  towards  recapitulation. 

A  SECOND  line  of  evidence  of  much  less  importance  is  ad- 
duced from  vestigial  structures  in  man,  and  from  the  so-called 
"  survival  movements."  Bolton  claims  that  upwards  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  of  these  vestigial  struQtijires  have  been 
discerned.  The  gill  slits,  the  vermiform  appendix,  the  muscles 
by  means  of  which  the  external  ear  is  moved  are  among  those 
most  often  quoted.  The  survival  movements  may  be  illus- 
trated by  the  peculiar  paddling  or  swimming  movements, 
and  the  grasping  and  clinging  movements  which  very  young 
1  Thomdike,  Original  Nature  of  Man,  pp.  254-255. 


36  Psychology  of  Childhood 

babies  make.  The  same  answer  may  be  made  here  that  was 
made  above.  Even  if  a  general  method  of  development  does 
not  account  for  their  presence,  still  such  bodily  analogies  have 
no  bearing  on  recapitulation  of  behavior. 

A  THIRD  line  of  evidence  offered  from  genetic,  social,  and 
pathological  psychology  instances  many  superstitions,  fears, 
customs,  and  other  psychoses  which  suggest  ancestral  minds 
in  the  same  way  that  vestigial  organs  in  the  body  suggest 
earlier  physical  forms.  As  noted  above,  the  brain  at  birth, 
and  therefore  mentality,  is  distinctly  human;  consequently 
we  may  ignore  delvings  into  any  more  remote  past  than  that 
of  our  earliest  human  ancestors.  Here  the  phenomena  are 
less  capable  of  proof  or  refutation  than  are  the  purely  physical. 
The  same  argument  holds,  however,  that  the  order  of  de- 
velopment or  regression  may  be  the  most  simple  or  the  most 
useful;  it  may  be  added,  too,  that  perhaps  were  all  the  at- 
tendant circumstances  thoroughly  understood  the  present 
situation  is  ample  explanation  of  the  particular  response 
called  out.  Children's  interest  in  fairy  stories,  rather  than 
recapitulating  human  superstition,  comes  at  a  time  when  their 
eager  receptivity  makes  them  credulous  of  all  sorts  of  wonders 
and  marvels  before  the  touchstone  of  experience  can  have 
distinguished  the  possible  from  the  impossible.  The  infant's 
dislike  of,  and  fright  at  touching  his  mother's  fur  stole  or  the 
family  cat  may  be  explained  not  by  any  inherited  memory  of 
unfortunate  racial  contact  with  a  mastodon,  but  by  the  un- 
usualness  of  the  skin  stimulus,  the  odor  of  the  fur,  or  the  un- 
interpreted expression  of  pussy's  eyes,  whiskers,  and  tail,  let 
alone  the  feel  of  her  nose  or  claws.  The  timidity  of  some  older 
people  when  having  to  cross  a  large  open  space  or  when  stand- 
ing on  high  places  need  not  be  accounted  for  by  any  savages' 
habits  tending  to  self-preservation,  but  by  a  social  self-con- 
sciousness, or  the  individual's  own  experiences  with  swift- 
moving  vehicles,  falls,  vertigo  induced  by  slow  eye  focus,  and 
the  like. 


The  Characteristics  of  Original  Nature  37 

Of  course,  the  most  obvious  proof  for  the  theory  should 
come  through  observation ;  do  children  in  their  development 
show  traces  of  passing  through  the  fish  stage,  the  lower  mam- 
malian stage,  the  primate  stage,  etc.,  through  primitive  man? 
Obviously  they  do  not.  No  one  has  beeii,'  able  to  segregate 
the  years  or  months  in  a  child's  life  when  he  was  recapitulat- 
ing any  stage  of  racial  development,  and  all  attempts  have  re- 
sulted disastrously  to  the  theory.  The  new-born  infant  shows 
characteristics  such  as  paddling  movements  that  have  been 
traced  to  the  fish  stage,  and  others  such  as  clinging  by  the 
hands  that  certainly  belong  to  the  primates.  An  eleven- 
year-old  boy  enjoys  the  water  like  a  mud  turtle,  scampers  on 
the  rocks  like  a  goat,  climbs  trees  Hke  a  chimpanzee,  inhabits 
caves  like  a  prehistoric  man,  builds  wigwams  or  snow-forts 
like  a  savage,  parades  with  drum  and  fife  like  a  twentieth-cen- 
tury militant.  He  may  practice  with  bows  and  arrows  or 
water  pistols;  he  may  model  a  water-wheel,  mix  concrete, 
or  even  set  up  a  wireless  outfit.  Which  stage  can  he  be  said 
to  be  duplicating?  Is  he  kid,  monkey,  barbarian,  or  plain 
boy?  Moreover,  love  of  the  water  and  of  climbing  hills  is 
found  in  the  twenties  and  forties  as  well  as  in  the  early  years, 
facts  difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  recapitulation  theory,  as 
is  also  the  la^ck  of  correspondence  in  the  race  and  in  the  indi- 
vidual of  the  relative  time  of  appearance  of  grasping,  talking, 
and  the  sex  instinct. 

Derived  culture  epoch  theory.  ■ —  Yet   the  advocate  of   the 
culture  epoch  theory,  a  derivative  of  the  theory  of  recapitu- 
lation, would  urge  avenues  of  approach  to  children 
determined  by  the  epoch  of  culture  through  which  select  cur- 
they    are    supposedly    passing.     In    the    hunting  J!^"?^^  ^ 
stage,   nomadic,   agricultural,   urban,  and   so   on,  the  culture 
children   must   be   told   stories   of   corresponding  ^^}°^^ , 

,  I'll         theory? 

stages  of  culture,  and  see  or  make  implements  be- 
longing to  that  stage.     But  to  city  children  of  to-day  a  stone 
plow  is  no  more  familiar  than  a  modern  tractor,  nor  a  birch- 


^S  Psychology  of  Childhood 

bark  canoe  than  a  motor  launch  or  big  ferry ;  while  an  auto- 
mobile is  certainly  better  known  than  a  camel  or  other  prim- 
itive means  of  transportation.  The  doings  of  Hiawatha,  or 
Aryan,  Greek,  Roman,  and  Saxon  boys,  or  of  Robinson  Crusoe 
are  undoubtedly  interesting,  but  so  are  those  of  contempo- 
raries. The  applications  of  the  doctrine  of  apperception 
suggest  that  the  familiar  and  the  simple  are  good  points  of  con- 
tact rather  than,  those  early  in  the  racial  chronology.  More- 
over, the  practical  difficulties  of  presenting  material  to  all 
first-grade  children,  or  all  second-grade  where  the  ages  vary 
by  as  much  as  two  or  three  years,  emphasize  the  fact  that  we 
may  err  in  seeking  in  the  presumable  epoch  corresponding  to 
the  children's  development  for  culture  material,  rather  than 
utilizing  the  obvious,  everyday  things  in  their  environment. 
As  Bolton  says,  the  "  telephone  and  the  postal  system  are 
quite  as  comprehensible  to  a  modern  boy  as  the  means  of 
communication  in  vogue  ten  thousand  years  ago.  ...  To  be 
sure,  the  boy  does  not  comprehend  the  philosophy  of  all  these 
modern  processes,  what  he  sees  are  externals.  .  .  .  Complexities 
of  life  exist  all  about  the  child,  but  he  responds  only  to  that 
for  which  his  development  has  attuned  him.  ^^ater  on  he 
becomes  fitted  ...  to  vibrate  in  harmony  with  a  more  complex 
order  of  things,  —  but  not  necessarily  those  things  only  which 
have  come  within  ancestral  experience."  ^ 

As  fields -for  speculation,  both  the  doctrine  of  recapitulation 
and  the  culture  epoch  theory  offer  interesting  material ;  but 
as  guides  in  the  interpretation  of  child  Ufe  and  in  the  planning 
of  school  courses  both  are  unsatisfactory. 

Utility  theory.  —  A  second  theory  which  is  being  offered 

What  is        to  explain  the  order  of  development  of  original 

the  utility      tendencies  is  the  utility  theory.     Thorndike  says  ,* 

eory  ^  q^j^^j.  |.j^gg  being  equal,  the  date  at  which  a 

tendency  appears  is  that  one  of  the  many  varying  dates  at 

^  Bolton,  Principles  of  Education,  p.  114. 
•  Thomdike,  Original  Nature  of  Man,  p.  252. 


The  Characteristics  of  Original  Nature  39 

which  it  has  appeared  in  our  ancestry  which  has  been  most 
serviceable  in  keeping  the  stock  alive."  The  two  factors  of 
variation  and  selection  account  for  the  order  of  the  appearance 
of  the  tendencies  just  as  they  account  for  their  existence. 
The  evidence  for  this  theory  is  very  scanty,  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  testing  of  it  has  only  just  begun.  It  does  seem  true, 
however,  that  in  cases  of  delayed  instincts  when  the  order  is 
in  opposition  to  that  of  racial  development,  it  is  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  useful  order ;  for  instance,  walking  erect  precedes 
climbing  trees.  On  the  whole,  too  little  is  known  of  the  actual 
equipment  of  man  in  terms  of  original  nature  as  well  as  the 
dates  of  the  appearance  of  such  tendencies  to  make  it  safe  to 
consider  any  theory  verified.  Such  verification  must  depend 
on  added  knowledge. 

The  point  of  view  of  this  book  so  far  has  been  to  emphasize 
the  fact  of  original  nature,  its  dependence  on  family,  sex,  and 
race,  and  its  importance  from  the  standpoint  of  education, 
both  as  a  limitation  and  as  capital.  Not  only,  therefore,  is  it 
necessary  for  the  educator  to  have  knowledge  of  what  man 
starts  with,  but  also  of  what  changes  take  place  in  this  original 
equipment,  and  how  such  changes  are  brought  about.  It 
should  be  understood  that  the  discussion  of  any  and  all  of 
these  points  must  be  incomplete  and  tentative.  As  to  what 
man's  original  equipment  is  in  terms  of  instincts  and  capaci- 
ties psychologists  are  not  at  all  agreed.  Neither  are  they 
agreed  as  to  the  changes  that  take  place,  —  how,  for  instance, 
a  five-year-old  differs  from  a  ten-year-old  in  memory.  Methods 
of  bringing  about  changes  in  the  nature  and  attainment  of 
children  are  but  now  being  subjected  to  scientific  study. 
Therefore  all  future  treatment  and  discussion  must  be  taken 
in  the  light  of  this  limitation  of  knowledge. 

The  child's  original  equipment  and  the  changes  which  take 
place  in  it  will  be  the  subject  of  the  next  eight  chapters.  The 
discussion  will  be  under  three  divisions:   i.  Original  tend- 


40  Psychology  of  Childhood 

encies  which  result  primarily  in  action.  2.  Original  tend- 
encies accompanied  by  affective  states.  3.  Original  tenden- 
cies which  result  primarily  in  mental  states,  such  as  attention, 
perception,  memory,  imagination,  and  thinking. 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  Give  instances  which  seem  to  show,  {a)  the  transitoriness  of 
capacities,  {h)  the  length  of  life  of  instincts  or  capacities. 

2.  Give  approximate  ages  for  the  appearance  of,  or  chief  interest 
in,  the  following :  {a)  walking,  (h)  herding  with  members  of  the 
same  sex,  {c)  dressing  dolls,  (d)  making  mud  pies,  (e)  roaming 
the  woods,  (/)  watching  bright  moving  objects,  (g)  self -display, 
{h)  interest  in  babies,  {i)  vocalization. 

3.  Illustrate  the  use  of  the  instinct  of  manipulation  in  the  work 
of  the  primary  grades,  the  grammar  grades,  the  junior  high  school. 

4.  What  are  the  points  in  favor  of  substitution  as  a  method  of 
modifying  instincts  ? 

5.  What  changes  in  the  elementary  school  program  would  be 
caused  by  an  utter  rejection  of  the  culture  epoch  theory  ? 

References  for  Reading 

James,  Principles  of  Psychology,  Vol.  II,  ch.  24. 
Thomdike,  Original  Nature  of  Man,  Vol.  I,  chs.  2,  14,  16. 
Bolton,  Principles  of  Education,  chs.  4,  5,  6. 
Kirkpatrick,  Fundamentals  of  Child  Sttidy,  ch.  3. 


CHAPTER  III 

TENDENCIES   RESULTING   IN   ACTION  —NON-SOCIAL 
INSTINCTS 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  divisions  suggested  in 
the  last  chapter  under  which  the  original  tendencies  will  be 
discussed  are  not  sharply  defined.  Of  necessity  they  overlap 
continually,  for  action,  conscious  mental  states,  and  affective 
states  occur  as  responses  to  almost  all  the  situations  in  Hfe. 
The  tendencies  listed  under  the  first  head  will  often  be  accom- 
panied by  both  intellectual  states  and  feeling,  and  the  same 
fact  is  true  of  each  of  the  other  divisions.  However,  for  con- 
venience in  discussion,  it  is  possible  to  make  such  a  division ; 
for  tendencies  in  their  original  form  may  primarily  concern 
action  or  intellect  or  feeling.  The  appearance  of  any  tend- 
ency in  any  one  group  does  not  in  consequence  exclude  it 
from  any  other,  and,  in  following  out  a  tendency,  excursions 
into  either  of  the  groups  may  be  a  necessity. 

The  tendencies  which  result  primarily  in  action  include 
many  of  the  so-called  instincts  of  general  psychology.     James 
defines  an  instinct  as  a  tendency  to  act  in  a  given  ^f^^^  j^qj^_ 
situation  without  experience  or  pre-knowledge  of  social  tend- 
the  result.     These  tendencies  to  act  as  caused  by  Ihouidthe 
original  nature  may  be  divided  into  two  groups,  teacher 
the  non-social  instincts  —  those    which    manifest  '^°"^'  ^^ 
themselves  in  situations  made  up  of  material  objects  —  and 
social  instincts,  those  whose  exercise  depends  on  the  presence 
or  behavior  of  other  human  beings.     It  would  be  impossible 
in  a  book  of  this  size  to  discuss  all  these  tendencies  to  action ; 

41 


1/ 


42  Psychology  of  Childhood 

therefore  the  following  list  is  but  a  partial  one,  only  those  of 
importance  to  the  educator  having  been  chosen.^ 

Of  the  non-social  tendencies,  the  following  are  important : 
I.  Greneral  physical  activity  —  made  up  of  movements  of 
gross  bodily  control,  vocalization,  visual  exploration  and  ma- 
nipulation; 2.  Food-getting  and  hunting;  3.  Teasing;  4. 
Ownership  and  collecting;    5.  Fighting. 

GENERAL  PHYSICAL  ACTIVITY.  Bodily  movements. 
—  The  instinct  of  physical  activity  shows  itself  from  birth 
on,  in  numerous  spontaneous  and  involuntary  movements 
which  involve  all  parts  of  the  body.  During  his  first  two. 
years  we  find  a  child  "  holding  up  his  head,  sitting,  standing, 
walking,  running,  stooping,  jumping  up  and  down,  leaping  at, 
crouching,  lying  down,  rolHng  over,  climbing,  dodging,  stoop- 
ing to  pick  up,  raising  himself  again,  balancing,  clinging,  push- 
ing with  arms  and  with  legs,  pulling  with  arms,  throwing, 
kicking,  grasping,"  and  so  on  through  an  almost  endless 
series  of  movements  which  use  all  the  muscles  in  the  body. 
That  these  movements  are  unlearned,  and  the  child's  manage- 
ment of  his  body  is  a  result  of  original  tendencies  seems  to  be 
more  and  more  the  opinion  of  experts  in  child  study.  It  is 
difficult  to  see  how  it  could  be  otherwise,  dependent  as  the 
human  race  is  on  original  equipment  for  the  initial  impetus  in 
all  directions.  The  fact  that  it  has  been  a  common  practice 
to  speak  of  "  teaching  children  to  walk  "  is  due  to  the  imper- 
fection of  the  first  manifestations  of  these  tendencies,  and  the 
gradualness  of  their  maturing  has  tended  to  hide  their  in- 
stinctive nature.  That  opportunities  for  exercise  and  the  re- 
sulting pleasure  or  pain  of  this  exercise  have  their  effect  in 
bringing  about  control  is  undeniable,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
educator  to  furnish  both ;  but  the  presence  or  absence  of  these 
various  types  of  bodily  movement  is  dependent  primarily 
upon  connections  in  the  nervous  system,  and  not  upon 
teaching.     In  fact,   the  forcing  of    the  baby  to  stand   or 

»  For  a  fuller  discussion,  refer  to  Thorndike's  Original  Nature  of  Man. 


Tendencies  Resulting  in  Action  43 

walk  by  fond  parents  or  proud  nurses  may  be  harmful  rather 
than  helpful. 

"  Fundamental  to  accessory  "  theory.  —  Granted  that  these 
tendencies  are  present  as  part  of  original  equipment  there 
arise  two  questions  of  importance  to  students  How  does  a 
of  children :   first,  "  Is  there  any  definite  order  in  ^^^^^  ^9^^^ 

,    .    ,  ,    .  .  1  ^   ,,  1  ^      a  -r  COIXtrol  OJ 

which  control  is  gained?  and  second,  Is  there  his  move- 
need  for  a  fuller  recognition  of  this  instinct  of  gen-  '"^"'*? 
eral  physical  activity?  "  In  connection  with  the  problem 
stated  in  the  first  question  much  has  been  written.  If  these 
movements  have  their  roots  in  original  nature,  it  follows  that 
no  movement  or  series  of  movements  can  come  under  the 
control  of  the  child  until  they  have  been  experienced  by  him 
as  the  result  of  the  functioning  of  his  nervous  system  —  that 
they  must  be  **  blind  "  and  "  non- voluntary  "  before  they  can 
be  voluntary.  Control,  then,  is  dependent  upon  the  maturing 
of  connections  between  neurones  whose  action  results  in  these 
various  movements. 

A  theory  "which  has  had  wide  acceptance  is  that  the  develop- 
ment is  from  the  fundamental  to  the  accessory  muscles.  But 
the  theory  has  meant  different  things  to  different  writers. 
Hall  says,  "  The  former  designates  the  muscles  and  move- 
ments of  the  trunk  and  large  joints,  neck,  back,  hips,  shoul- 
ders, knees  and  elbows,  sometimes  called  central,  and  which 
in  general  man  has  in  common  with  the  higher  and  larger  ani- 
mals. .  .  .  The  latter  or  accessory  movements  are  those  of 
the  hand,  tongue,  face  and  articulatory  organs.  .  .  .  They 
are  representea  by  smaller  and  more  nlimerous  muscles,  whose 
functions  develop  later  in  Hfe  and  represent  a  higher  stand- 
point of  evolution."  ^  These  last  two  phrases  interpret  the 
theory  in  accordance  with  the  doctrine  of  recapitulation,  but 
emphasize  the  mere  size  of  the  muscles.  A  second  view  is 
expressed  by  Bolton :  '*  In  a  general  way,  by  fundamental 
we  mean  also  that  which  is  vital  and  necessary  to  existence. 
1  G.  S.  Hall,  Youth,  p.  9. 


44  Psychology  of  Childhood 

By  accessory  we  mean  that  which  is  less  vital  and  in  a  way  less 
necessary  to  existence."  ^  A  third  interpretation  is  that  with- 
in any  series  or  group  of  coordinated  muscles  the  larger  ones 
mature  first,  and  the  smallest  ones  last.  A  fourth  view  ex- 
pressed by  Shepardson  is  that  the  voluntary  purposive  control 
of  muscles  is  from  those  that  are  oldest  in  the  race  to  those 
that  are  youngest. 

In  direct  contradiction  to  the  first  theory  are  such  facts  as 
these :  the  developfhent  of  the  movements  of  grasping  with 
the  fingers  and  curling  the  toes  in  a  very  young  infant ;  chil- 
dren pick  up  pins,  tacks,  and  other  small  objects  before  they 
walk ;  babies  have  control  of  eye  movements,  and  can  follow 
a  light  long  before  they  use  their  trunk  muscles  to  sit  up  ;  the 
existence  of  infant  prodigies,  whose  performance  requires  the 
finest  type  of  adjustment  and  coordination  of  small  muscles, 
which  is  a  proof  of  the  maturity  of  the  centers  controlling 
the  accessory  muscles.  The  fact  expressed  by  the  second 
theory,  that  the  muscles  controlling  vital  operations  are  de- 
veloped before  those  not  necessary  to  life,  is  undoubtedly  true. 
The  digestive,  circulatory,  pulmonary  acts  are  fairly  perfect 
at  birth,  long  before  the  coordinations  of  the  muscles  of 
the  fingers  or  legs  are  perfected;  but  these  are  reflexes, 
and  as  the  theory  is  brought  forward  in  connection  with  the 
question  of  voluntary  control  this  interpretation  does  not 
add  anything. 

For  the  support  of  the  third  view,  that  within  coordinated 
series  of  muscles  and  muscle  movements  the  progress  is  from 
large  to  small,  some  experimental  evidence  is  offered.  Bryan,^ 
in  his  tests  of  the  voluntary  control  of  the  muscles  of  the 
shoulder-finger  series  in  children  from  six  to  sixteen  years  of 
age,  finds  that  the  shoulder  muscles  show  the  greatest  matu- 
rity and  the  finger  coordination  least  in  children  of  six,  but 

*  F.  E.  Bolton,  Principles  of  Education,  p.  120. 

«  On  the  Development  of  Voluntary  Motor  Ability,  A.  J.  P.,  Vol.  5,  pp.  125- 
204. 


Tendencies  Resulting  in  Action  45 

that  the  finger  muscles  gain  in  rapidity  and  precision  of  action 
after  nine  or  ten  years  of  age,  Hancock/  in  his  experiment 
testing  control,  comes  to  relatively  the  same  conclusion ;  i.e. 
that  the  order  of  control  is  body,  shoulder,  arm,  forearm,  and 
hand,  and  that  movements  requiring  large  muscles  are  more 
easily  learned  than  those  involving  small  ones.  The  evidence 
is  not  conclusive,  for  there  is  no  definite  period  of  ripening 
found  for  the  shoulder  muscles ;  they  continue  to  improve  up 
to  sixteen  years  just  as  do  the  finger  movements,  only  the  rate 
is  somewhat  slower.  Also  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  rate  of 
improvement  in  the  different  tests  varies,  a  result  that  seems 
hard  to  explain  if  the  maturing  is  due  simply  to  a  law  of  inner 
growth. 

The  fourth  view,  that  expressed  by  Shepardson,^  seems  to 
be  the  one  most  in  accord  with  the  facts  known.  An  observa- 
tion of  children's  plays  shows  that  in  the  spontaneous  muscle 
movements  made  then  the  larger  muscles  play  a  major  part, 
—  the  smaller  muscles  within  a  series  coming  into  use  later ; 
and  that  when  movements  are  willed,  those  involving  the 
larger  muscles  within  a  series  require  less  effort  than  do  the 
smaller  coordinations.-  The  practical  outcome  of  the  theory, 
even  though  it  is  not  tenable  in  its  original  form,  is  to  em- 
phasize the  value  of  large  movements  for  little  children,  and 
to  suggest  the  economy  in  both  time  and  effort  in  the  post- 
ponement of  movements  requiring  fine  coordinations.  It 
also  emphasizes  the  need  of  spontaneous,  free  exercise  of  all 
movements  before  the  voluntary,  purposive  use  of  them.  In 
his  free  play,  the  child  should  have  used  again  and  again  the 
fine  coordinations  before  he  is  required  to  make  them  in  con- 
nection with  school  subjects.  Many  of  the  changes  which 
have  been  so  worth  while  in  the  materials  used  for  instruction 
in  the  kindergarten  and  primary  grades  have  been  due  to 
the  appHcation  of  this  theory. 

^  A  Study  of  Motor  Ability,  Ped.  Sem.,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  9-29. 

2  A  Critique  of  the  Doctrine  of  From  Fundamental  to  Accesscfry.    V 


46  Psychology  of  Childhood 

Provision  for  activity.  —  The  second  question,  as  to  whether 
enough  allowance  is  made  for  the  strength  of  this  tendency  of 
Is  it  natural  Physical  activity,  can  be  answered  emphatically 
to"  keep  in  the  negative.  The  Uttle  child  is  a  bundle  of 
*^'''  activity,  asleep  or  awake,  and  as  a  rule  is  in  almost 
constant  movement.  Nerve  currents  which  later  will  work 
themselves  out  in  terms  of  mental  states  now  result  in  move- 
ment. Curtis  found  that  the  very  young  child  cannot  sit 
motionless  more  than  thirty  seconds,  nor  children  from  five 
to  ten  years  for  more  than  one  minute  and  a  half.  Another 
observer  testing  the  automatic  swaying  movements  in  children 
found  them  to  be  from  four  to  six  times  as  great  as  those  in 
the  adult.  It  is  difficult  for  an  adult  to  understand  the  amount 
of  effort,  of  nervous  energy  required  in  a  young  child  to  inhibit 
all  the  tendencies  to  movement  which  are  present.  One  of 
the  mpst  exhausting  things  one  asks  him  to  do  is  to  "  sit  still 
and  play  quietly,"  and  yet  we  ask  it  as  though  it  were  nothing, 
not  realizing  the  draft  it  makes  on  his  store  of  energy.  The 
kindergarten  has  recognized  this  need  of  the  child  for  freedom 
of  movement,  but  the  primary  school  still  falls  far  short  in 
providing  for  this  side  of  child  nature.  This  instinct  is  im- 
planted in  the  child  to  be  used,  not  suppressed.  What  society 
needs  is  primarily  an  able-bodied,  well-developed  healthy  little 
being,  and  it  is  by  means  of  the  use  and  development  of  this  in- 
stinct that  such  a  result  is  possible.  As  Gesell  says, "  Why  shut 
children  up  in  the  prisons  which  we  have  made  for  ourselves  out 
of  inhibition  and  conventional  standards?"  To  make  them 
old  men  and  old  women  before  their  time  is  not  only  to  lose  the 
charm  and  joy  of  childhood,  but  to  sap  the  vitality  of  the  race. 
Vocalization.  —  ''A  little  child,  apart  from  training,  makes 
all  sorts  of  movements  of  the  vocal  cords  and  mouth-parts 
How  does  resulting  in  cooings,  babblings,  yelHngs,  squealings 
talking  and  squawkings  of  great  variety,"  which  make  up 

eve  op  ^j^g  g^^^  jj^  terms  of  original  nature  from  which 
language  is  developed.    This  variety  of  vocal  expression  is 


Tendencies  Resulting  in  Action  47 

not  the  first  manifestation,  but  one  undifferentiated  cry  is 
probably  the  only  expression  for  at  least  the  first  two  weeks. 
Before  the  fifth  week,  however,  the  primitive  squall  is  dif- 
ferentiated into  special  cries,  denoting  hunger,  pain,  anger, 
etc.  From  this  point,  differentiation  proceeds  rapidly.  The 
cooings  and  gurglings  of  babies  of  all  nationalities  seem  to 
be  the  same  during  this  period  of  spontaneous  vocal  play. 
The  different  languages  emerge  from  the  same  root  stock  of 
vocal  sounds  by  means  of  the  laws  of  exercise  and  effect.  The 
sounds  that  are  noted  and  rewarded,  those  which  result  in 
satisfaction  to  the  child,  are  fixed  in  him.  The  language 
which  the  child  speaks,  if  it  be  a  language  at  all  or  only  baby 
talk,  depends  entirely  on  the  way  the  vocal  manifestations 
are  received  by  the  adults  in  the  child's  environment.  The 
child's  progress  in  the  field  of  language  depends  on  the. 
two  factors  of  necessity  and  reward.  The  Httle  girl  who  at 
five  could  not  talk  at  all  because  her  sister  had  always  talked 
for  her  is  a  case  in  point. 

As  a  general  rule,  intonation,  inflection,  and  accent  are 
noticed  by  children  and  responded  to  earHer  than  are  words ; 
it  naturally  follows  that  these  are  also  the  first  elements  of 
language  acquired  by  the  child.  The  question  as  to  the  kinds 
of  words  earliest  learned  by  children  is  a  difficult  one ;  there 
is  no  absolute  agreement  in  answer  between  experts  in  child 
study.  The  consensus  of  opinion  seems  at  present  to  be  that 
the  first  words  are  "  sentence  "  words,  the  exact  meaning  of 
which  is  made  clear  by  intonation,  gesture,  etc. ;  the  sub- 
stantive and  predicate  functions  are  not  differentiated,  such 
indiscriminate  use  being  later  corrected  as  need  arises.  Fol- 
lowing this  stage  come  adjectives,  appropriate  use  of  adverbs, 
various  tenses,  and  last  of  all  certain  prepositions,  conjunc- 
tions, and  pronouns.^  Sentence  making  proceeds  as  exigen- 
cies require,  progress  resulting  from  "  (i)  the  substitution  of 

^  For  a  full  discussion  of  this  topic  see  O'Shea,  Linguistic  Development  and 
Education. 


48  Psychology  of  Childhood 

words  for  what  is  understood  or  indicated  by  tone  or  gesture ; 
(2)  analysis  of  situation  into  separate  elements  which  then  are 
expressed  by  words ;  (3)  increase  of  mental  grasp  so  that  the 
relation  of  different  elements  to  each  other  is  held  in  mind, 
and  words  selected  and  arranged  to  express  that  relation."  ^ 
The  size  of  children's  vocabularies  and  their  control  of  language 
construction  at  any  age,  vary  tremendously,  e.g.  from  a 
score  of  words  to  fifteen  hundred  at  the  age  of  two.  Some  four- 
year-olds  may  use  better  constructions  than  some  twelve- 
year-olds;  so  much  depends  on  what  they  hear.  From  a 
practical  point  of  view,  the  importance  of  the  method  of  trial 
and  error  and  the  laws  of  exercise  and  effect  for  the  young 
child,  the  added  factor  of  good  examples  for  the  older  child 
are  worthy  of  emphasis.  Likewise,  the  fact  that  oral,  must 
precede  visual,  or  written,  language  should  not  be  overlooked. 
Manipulation.  —  The  tendency  towards  manipulation  is 
another  manifestation  of  the  general  instinct  of  physical 
.  activity.     A  child  pulls,  pats,  tears,  fingers,  pokes, 

stinct  is  a  rubs,  turns,  rolls,  squeezes,  drops,  picks  up,  waves, 
^h^^^°\?  t^^ows,  etc.,  any  object  that  permits  it.  His  facil- 
ity in  the  use  of  his  fingers  and  his  thumb  in  op- 
position to  them  as  a  matter  of  original  nature  is  the  explana- 
tion of  man's  skill  and  technique  in  all  the  arts  and  industries. 
These  movements  are  as  spontaneous  and  motiveless  as  the 
grosser  bodily  movements  previously  discussed;  they  are 
neither  constructive  nor  destructive,  although  the  child  may 
learn  to  be  either.  That  the  fund  of  energy  furnished  by  this 
instinct  as  well  as  the  possibilities  offered  should  have  been 
practically  ignored  in  our  schools  for  so  many  years  seems  al- 
most incredible.  It  is  only  comparatively  recently  that  the 
education  of  the  hand  has  formed  a  part  of  the  school  curric- 
ulum, and  in  fact  in  certain  sections  of  the  country  it  is  only 
now  beginning  to  be  considered.  The  value  of  handwork 
need  not  be  discussed  here,  but  from  the  standpoint  of  child 

*  E.  A.  Kirkpatrick,  Fundamentals  of  Child  Study,  p.  234. 


Tendencies  Resulting  in  Action  49 

psycliology,  it  is  evident  that  to  ignore  this  part  of  an  indi- 
vidual's capital  is  wasteful. 

Certain  principles  are  worth  noting.  First :  large,  coarse 
movements  should  precede  small,  fine  ones. 

Second  :  such  materials  as  sand,  clay,  wooden  blocks,  heavy 
cord  should  precede  the  use  of  implements  such  as  scissors, 
brush,  crayon,  pencil,  and  sewing  materials. 

Third :  content  precedes  form,  —  doing  something  pre- 
cedes the  interest  in  how  it  is  done.  For  example,  a  piece  of 
handwork  may  be  done  with  any  one  of  three  motives  in  mind, 
(a)  to  tell  something,  (b)  to  represent  something,  (c)  to  make 
something  beautiful  or  perfect ;  and  in  this  order  the  motives 
should  be  appealed  to,  mere  technique  coming  last. 

Fourth:  originality  of  performance  follows  a  variety  of 
experiences  and  an  increase  of  technique,  and  it  should  not  be 
required  until  many  concrete  examples  have  been  presented. 
These  last  two  principles  apply  to  work  in  language  and  com- 
position just  as  truly  as  to  handwork. 

FOOD-GETTING  AND  HUNTING.  —  Food-getting  is 
one  of  the  first  instincts  to  manifest  itself.  The  early  forms 
are  the  sucking  movements  and  the  movements  of  „     .  ^^ 

°  .  .  How  IS  the 

the  head  m  seeking  the  breasts,  the  various  mouth,  food-getting 
throat,  and  face  movements  according  to  whether  »'«'»'»<^' 

'  1  .  A      1       shown? 

the  substance  tasted  is  sweet,  sour,  or  bitter.  As  the 
child  grows  older,  the  reaching,  grasping,  and  putting-in- 
the-mouth  movements  are  added.  These  movements  are 
quickly  involved  in  the  instinct  of  general  physical  activity 
and  manipulation,  although  for  about  a  year  and  a  half  the 
tendency  of  the  baby  to  put  everything  in  his  mouth  is  a 
source  of  anxiety  to  the  mother  and  nurse.  Because  of  the 
civilized  community  in  which  children  are  born  the  original 
tendencies  are  soon  overlaid  by  definite  "  manners  "  in  con- 
nection with  food-getting,  but  the  interest  in  food  is  one  of 
the  chief  interests  of  childhood  and  remains  strong  throughout 
life.     Kirkpatrick  says  it  reaches  its  height  about  six  when. 


^o  Psychology  of  Childhood 

because  a  child  is  eating  all  sorts  of  foods,  his  varied  expe- 
rience has  given  him  a  basis  for  knowledge  or  choice.  There 
seems  to  be  no  vaUd  reason  why  this  love  of  good  things  to 
eat  should  not  be  appealed  to  as  a  legitimate  motive  in  deal- 
ing with  young  children.  It  is  a  natural  interest,  one  of  which 
there  is  no  need  to  be  ashamed,  and  one  of  tremendous  dynamic 
power.  Of  course,  as  other  interests  appear,  appeal  to  this 
one  alone  is  no  longer  wise. 

AUied  with  the  food-getting  instinct  in  primitive  man  was 
the  hunting  instinct.  No  particular  need  of  the  hunting 
instinct  exists  any  longer,  but  the  original  tendency  persists. 
Thorndike  describes  it  as  follows :  ''  To  a  small  escaping 
object,  man,  especially  if  hungry,  responds,  apart  from  train- 
ing, by  pursuit,  being  satisfied  when  he  draws  nearer  to  it. 
When  within  pouncing  distance,  he  pounces  upon  it,  grasping 
at  it.  If  it  is  not  seized,  he  is  annoyed.  If  it  is  seized,  he 
examines,  manipulates  and  dismembers  it,  unless  some  con- 
trary tendency  is  brought  into  action  by  its  sliminess,  sting, 
or  the  like.  To  an  object  of  moderate  size  and  not  of  offen- 
sive mien  moving  away  from  or  past  him  man  originally  re- 
sponds much  as  noted  above,  save  that  in  seizing  the  object 
chased,  he  is  likely  to  throw  himself  upon  it,  bear  it  to  the 
ground,  choke  and  maul  it  until  it  is  completely  subdued, 
giving  then  a  cry  of  triumph."  ^  Whether  there  are  special- 
ized forms  of  the  hunting  instinct,  such  as  hunting  for  birds' 
nests  and  eggs,  or  inserting  the  fingers  in  small  holes  and 
crannies,  is  still  a  disputed  question.  This  instinct  to  hunt 
and  subdue  animals  or  other  human  beings  weaker  than  him- 
self is  still  seen  in  civilized  man.  It  is  evident  in  many  chil- 
dren's games,  where  pursuit  and  capture  is  the  chief  element. 
In  adults,  it  is  seen  in  the  fondness  of  many  men  and  some 
women  for  hunting  as  a  sport,  in  the  tracking  instinct  of  the 
detective,  "  in  the  hounding  of  Quakers,  abolitionists,  Jews, 
Chinamen,  scabs,  prophets,  or  suffragettes  of  the  non-militant 
»  Thorndike,  Original  Nature  of  Man,  p.  52. 


Tendencies  Resulting  in  Action  51 

variety."  The  energy  is  here  as  a  part  of  the  natural  equip- 
ment of  every  individual.  It  is  the  business  of  the  educator 
to  see  that  it  gets  proper  opportunity  for  exercise  in  the  harm- 
less plays  of  childhood,  and  that  it  is  diverted  into  such  chan- 
nels that  in  the  adult  it  may  work  in  the  cause  of  justice  and 
of  service  to  the  community. 

TEASING.  —  Teasing  and  bullying  are  original  tendencies 
which  are  alUed  to  both  the  hunting  instinct  and  the  instinct 
of    manipulation.     These    two    tendencies    when  to  what 
evoked  by  animals  or  persons  unwilling  or  unable  '^^^V  'f"^" 

1  It  <•    7  11     T    encies  is 

to  protect  themselves  are  the  roots  of  the  so-called  teasing 
'*  cruelty  "  in  children.  When  it  is  primarily  the  similar? 
instinct  of  manipulation,  poking,  pulUng,  punching,  slapping, 
etc.,  manifested  toward  some  one  who  does  not  "  play  back," 
the  whole  response  is  called  teasing.  Adults  and  pet  animals 
who  do  not  respond  by  energetic  mastery  suffer  much  at  the 
hands  of  young  children  in  this  way.  Older  children  choose 
other  children  as  their  victims.  When  it  is  the  hunting  in- 
stinct and  manifested  toward  a  weaker  individual,  it  is  called 
bullying  and  may  be  carried  to  great  lengths  by  individuals 
of  a  mean  nature.  Teasing  in  moderation  is  thought  to  be 
good  both  for  the  one  teased  and  the  one  teasing,  as  it  tends 
to  arouse  initiative;  but  if  exercised  unduly  or  habitually, 
it  is  apt  to  degenerate  into  bullying.  Bullying  is  possibly  the 
one  original  tendency  that  seems  wholly  bad.  It  is  difficult 
to  discern  in  it  any  element  of  good,  and  its  uprooting,  or  the 
substitution  of  one  of  the  kindlier,  more  helpful  tendencies 
for  it  must  be  one  of  the  duties  of  every  teacher.  Its  per-j 
sistence  in  adult  life  results  in  much  harm  and  unhappiness. 
The  brutality  of  the  strong  towards  the  weak,  the  misuse  of 
power  by  governments,  the  refinement  of  cruelty  shown  in 
sarcasm  and  covered  taunts,  all  find  their  explanation  in  this 
original  tendency.  Children  cannot  be  held  responsible  for 
its  existence  in  them,  for  it  is  part  of  their  inherited  equip- 
ment.    They  are  not  degenerate  when  they  tease  or  bully, 


5  2  Psychology  of  Childhood 

but  for  the  good  of  society  these  tendencies  must  be  modified 
and  changed. 

OWNERSHIP  AND  COLLECTING.  —  The  instincts  of 
ownership  and  collection  are  two  non-social  tendencies  closely 
Whv  is  it  allied.  There  is  a  tendency  in  every  child  to  ap- 
worth  white  proach  any  attractive  object,  seize  and  carry  it  off 
collecting^  if  it  is  not  too  large.  At  a  later  age,  such  objects 
instinct?  ^^e  put  together  in  some  convenient  place,  looked 
at  in  the  mass,  fingered  and  perhaps  arranged.  These  objects 
gather  value  simply  because  they  are  possessed,  and  aimless 
collecting  and  storing  of  all  sorts  of  valueless  objects  becomes 
a  habit.  Other  instincts,  such  as  manipulation,  curiosity, 
rivalry,  are  aroused  in  connection  with  the  possessions. 
KJine,^  in  his  investigation  of  the  instinct  of  ownership,  says 
that  the  first  objects  to  be  claimed  are  those  instrumental  in 
satisfying  hunger ;  in  the  second  group  are  those  that  admin- 
ister to  bodily  comfort,  such  as  '^  mother's  lap  "  and  a  "  special 
chair,"  etc.;  in  the  third  group  are  articles  of  motion  and 
articles  of  dress,  followed  by  articles  used  in  imitative  plays. 
This  tendency,  which  originates  as  a  blind  one  to  grasp  and 
keep  anything  attracting  attention,  soon  resulting  in  a  child's 
claiming  his  bottle,  his  crib,  his  toys  and  clothes,  develops 
into  one  of  the  strongest  governing  forces  in  civilized  life. 
The  mere  fact  of  ownership  or  possession  is  enough  to  make 
one  exert  all  one's  powers  to  retain  acquisitions.  One's  in- 
genuity is  never  more  taxed  than  when  desirous  of  possessing 
some  object  be  it  article  of  adornment,  something  ministering 
to  a  hobby,  a  job,  or  a  piece  of  information.  Everything 
in  life  may  be  claimed  and  is  claimed  by  this  instinct, 
and  the  pursuance  of  "  my "  in  any  situation  adds  a 
power  that  is  difficult  to  measure.  It  is  *'  my "  home 
and  possessions,  "my"  family,  *'my"  friends,  ''my"  repu- 
tation and  interests,  "  my  "  business  concern,  "  my  "  town, 
"my"  state,  "my"  country  and  the  same  sense  of  posses- 
»  The  Psychology  of  Ownership,  Ped.  Sem.,  Vol.  VI. 


Tendencies  Resulting  in  Action  53 

sion  often  spreads  so  that  it  includes  opinions,  principles, 
ethics,  and  religion.  . v 

Training  needed.  —  This  tendency  to  reach  gut,  to  possess, 
to  hold,  often  hinders  good  judg:q|ient  and  obscures  the  issues 
of  life.  It  is  frequently  aijit^agonistic  to  the  social  instincts 
of  sympathy  and  >  kindliness ;  and  because  of  these  facts, 
teachers  have  usually  refrained  from  appealing  to  it,  have 
ignored  its  existence  as  far  as  possible.  Nothing  could  be  a 
more  unwise  treatment.  Its  very  strength  and  persistence 
make  such  a  manner  of  dealing  with  it  futile,  indeed  often 
harmful.  As  a  natural  tendency  it  necessarily  precedes  the 
social  instincts.  One's  value  as  a  citizen  depends  on  one's 
possessions,  not  only  material,  but  intellectual  and  spiritual 
as  well.  An  individual  must  have  possessions  worth  while, 
must  be  something  worth  while,  before  he  will  be  much  worth 
while  to  others.  The  instinct  of  ownership  is  the  necessary 
foundation  for  all  personal  value.  It  should  then  be  appealed 
to,  made  use  of  in  the  home  and  school.  It  is  a  perfectly 
legitimate  motive,  and  a  valuable  source  of  power.  True,  an 
adjustment  is  necessary  between  this  non-social  and  sometimes 
anti-social  tendency  and  the  social  tendencies;  but  this  ad- 
justment comes  only  through  much  experience  and  teaching. 
Modification  of  the  first  crude  tendency  comes  about  as  the 
child  claims  possessions  of  greater  and  greater  value,  from  the 
physical  and  material  to  the  spiritual,  and  as  he  learns  that 
possessions  in  common  are  often  worth  more  than  those  purely 
individual. 

Changes  with  age.  —  The  collecting  of  perfectly  valueless 
articles  is  a  strong  tendency  in  childhood,  and  one  not  tran- 
sitory. Miss  Burk  ^  found  it  present  at  six  years  of  age,  and 
to  be  present  as  far  as  she  tested,  through  seventeen,  though 
the  time  of  greatest  prominence  seems  to  be  between  nine  and 
ten  years  of  age  when  the  average  number  of  collections  per 
child  is  4.4.  The  thing  collected  seems  to  depend  largely  on 
1  The  Collecting  Instinct,  Ped.  Sem.,  Vol.  VII. 


^4  Psychology  of  Childhood 

the  environment,  this  instinct  at  first  being  merely  to  hoard 
something  or  other.  The  next  stage  involves  rivalry  —  and 
the  aim  becomes  to  outstrip  others  in  point  of  numbers  in  the 
collection.  In  the  third  stage,  some  attention  is  paid  to  ar- 
rangement and  order ;  but  at  no  time  is  the  inherent  value  of 
the  object  an  important  factor.  It  is  found  that  objects  of 
nature  precede  both  literary  and  esthetic  objects  as  materials 
for  collection.  The  strength  of  this  tendency  in  childhood 
and  the  fact  that  it  is  still  present  in  so  many  adults  —  wit- 
ness the  collections  of  string  pieces,  bottles,  boxes,  corks,  bags, 
hats,  etc.,  as  well  as  those  of  hunting  trophies,  stamps,  coins, 
rugs,  china,  art  objects,  etc.  —  suggest  that  the  schools 
would  do  well  to  use  the  instinct  more.  An  indefinite  tend- 
ency ' —  that  fact  in  itself  gives  any  environmental  force  great 
power  in  directing  it.  Emphasis  must  be  laid  on  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  material  and  the  criticism  as  to  the  value  of  the 
things  collected  for  the  purpose  held  in  mind.  Only  so  can 
we  train  into  scientific  method  and  utilize  this  tendency  for 
constructive  social  work.  It  has  been  used  somewhat  in 
the  intermediate  grammar  grades  in  connection  with  nature 
study  and  home  geography,  but  even  there  it  might  be  used 
further.  In  the  upper  grammar  and  early  high  school  it  could 
be  appealed  to  in  connection  with  vocabulary  study,  either  in 
EngHsh  or  a  modern  language,  in  the  collection  of  facts  of  all 
kinds  in  the  study  of  literature  and  history,  as  well  as  in  the 
study  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  Every  use  of  one  of  these 
original  tendencies  is  economy,  and  much  more  could  be  done 
in  this  direction  than  has  thus  far  been  worked  out. 

FIGHTING.  —  The  instiiijt-'ef^ghting,  pugnacity,  is  one 
of  the  strongest  original  tendencies  possessed  by  the  human 
How  may  race.  It  is  stronger  in  men  than  in  women,  but  it 
the  fighting    jg  present  in  all  normal  individuals.     It  is  a  second- 

instinct  be  ^    ,        ,  ,  , 

aroused  and  ary  mstmct,  m  that  it  presupposes  the  presence 
directed?  ^f  other  instincts.  McDougall,  Kirkpatrick,  and 
Thorndike  all  agree  that  it  is  aroused  when  any  other  instinc- 


Tendencies  Resulting  in  Action  55 

tive  tendency  is  thwarted.  Because  it  is  dependent  on  the 
presence  of  other  instincts  in  themselves  essentially  differing 
from  each  other,  the  fighting  instinct  is  aroused  by  many  dif- 
ferent situations,  and  the  responses  must  therefore  be  varied. 
Thwarting  the  instinct  of  physical  activity,  as  when  a  baby 
is  held,  arouses  the  fighting  instinct  which  manifests  itself  in 
a  definite  way.  Thwarting  the  instinct  of  curiosity,  of  hunt- 
ing, of  collecting,  of  self-display,  of  mastery,  or  of  sex  in  each 
case  brings  a  response  in  terms  of  fighting ;  and  that  response 
must  be  different  because  of  the  difference  in  the  stimulus. 
This  fact  makes  it  one  of  the  most  general  as  well  as  one  of  the 
most  variable  of  the  original  responses  of  action.  It  shows 
itself  in  the  very  young  baby  in  screaming,  pushing  away, 
kicking,  writhing,  etc.  It  shows  itself  in  the  older  child  in 
crying,  running  away  from  or  towards,  dodging,  kicking,  etc., 
and  in  the  boy  of  eight  or  nine  in  the  regular  hand-to-hand 
fight,  depending  in  each  case  on  the  cause  for  the  particular 
manifestation.  The  attitude  taken  by  adults  towards  this 
tendency  is  one  of  intense  disapproval.  Boys  are  put  on  their 
honor  not  to  fight  and  are  punished  if  they  do.  Granted  that 
this  tendency  does  bring  much  trouble  both  to  the  boy  and 
his  parents,  is  it  wise  to  try  to  stamp  it  out  by  such  means? 
Is  it  wise  to  stamp  it  out  at  all?  McDougall  says,  "  The  in- 
stinct of  pugnacity  has  played  a  part  second  to  none  in  the 
evolution  of  social  organization,  and  in  the  present  age  it 
operates  more  powerfully  than  any  other  in  producing  demon- 
strations of  collective  emotion  and  action  on  a  great  scale."  ^ 
Again,  in  comparing  the  peoples  of  Europe  and  those  of  India 
and  China,  he  says  of  the  two  latter,  *'  The  bulk  of  the  people 
are  deficient  in  the  pugnacious  instinct ;  they  are  patient  and 
long  suffering,  have  no  taste  for  war,  and,  in  China  especially, 
they  despise  the  military  virtues.  At  the  same  time  they 
seem  to  be  deficient  in  those  social  qualities  which  may  be 
summed   up   under   the   one  word  '\:onscientiousness,'  and 

^  Social  Psychology,  p.  279. 


56  ,  Psychology  of  Childhood 

which  are  the  cement  of  societies  and  essential  factors  of  their 
progressive  integration."  ' 

Training  needed.  —  If  this  is  true,  and  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  it,  this  crude,  often  cruel,  instinct  has  in  it  possi- 
bilities of  development  which  make  for  cooperation,  group- 
spirit,  and  moral  fiber.  The  social  instincts  are  then  de- 
pendent to  some  extent  on  this  individualistic,  non-social  root. 
The  trouble  with  parents  and  teachers  often  is,  that  they  want 
to  omit  the  first  crude  stage  of  the  tendency  and  come  at  once 
to  its  higher  levels ;  but  on  logical  grounds  alone,  it  is  hard  to 
see  how,  if  a  boy  has  been  required  to  inhibit  such  pugnacious 
tendencies  on  the  physical  level,  he  can  later  on  fight  for 
country  or  friends  or  principles.  He  has  not  known  what  it 
means,  when  thwarted,  to  stand  for  his  wishes  and  rights; 
he  has  not  known  the  sweets  of  success  or  the  shame  of  de- 
feat ;  he  has  not  known  what  it  means  to  suffer  for  the  sake 
of  gaining  something  that  seems  worth  while.  The  door  has 
been  shut  on  all  this  opportunity  when  first  the  instinct  was 
strong ;  how  then  can  we  expect  him  later  on  to  fight  his  dif- 
ficulties, take  his  stand  for  the  right,  to  suffer  for  it  if  need  be  ? 
As  well  expect  a  spoiled  child  who  has  always  had  his  own  way 
to  be  generous,  or  one  who  has  never  heard  music  to  appre- 
ciate a  Beethoven  sonata.  As  in  other  instances  already 
discussed,  the  tendency  is  there  to  be  used,  not  to  be  merely 
suppressed.  It  is  possible  that  women  would  not  be  so  open 
to  the  criticism  of  being  "  lacking  in  honor,"  "  of  not  under- 
standing fair  play,"  or  being  sneaky  and  underhand  if  this 
tendency  had  received  proper  treatment  in  childhood.  Fight- 
ing, real  physical  combat,  is  a  good  thing  for  girls  as  well  as 
boys,  but  that  is  only  a  starting  point.  The  tendency  needs 
modification.  The  child  needs  to  learn  not  only  to  fight  for 
his  own  rights,  but  for  the  rights  of  others ;  he  needs  to  learn 
to  be  generous  in  the  interpretation  of  his  rights,  and  to  sub- 
merge his  interests  in  those  of  the  group,  —  to  learn  coopera- 

*  Social  Psychology,  p.  291. 


Tendencies  Resulting  in  Action  57 

tive  pugnacity.  The  situation  arousing  the  fighting  instinct 
and  the  response  itself  should  pass  from  the  physical  to  the 
spiritual  level.  Inhibition  must  be  taught  in  connection  with 
it  so  that  the  child  learns  self-control.  Not  disuse,  nor  sup- 
pression by  punishment,  but  graded  substitutions  leading  to 
sublimation  is  the  necessary  treatment. 

The  over-manifestation  of  the  tendency  is  usually  due  to 
an  environment  that  is  not  satisfying  the  normal  demands  of 
the  growing  child.  Some  instincts .  have  been  continually 
thwarted  by  the  conditions  in  which  the  child  has  spent  his 
time,  and  therefore  the  pugnacious  instinct  has  been  aroused. 
True,  its  manifestation  may  be  delayed  because  of  fear,  but, 
released  from  that,  it  appears.  A  schoolroom  where  the  in- 
stincts of  curiosity,  love  of  g^jproval,  mrastery,  and  physical 
activity  are  thwarted  all  day  Idrfg  is  a  hotbed  for  the  pugna- 
cious instinct;  children  released  from  such  a  room  are  ripe 
for  trouble.  Give  the  natural  powers  of  the  child  oppor- 
tunities for  normal  exercise,  use  a  little  tact  in  dealing  with 
the  unusually  pugnacious  boy,  and  the  fighting  evil  will  almost 
disappear.  An  eighth-grade  class  in  a  Massachusetts  town 
had  to  pass  judgment  on  the  case  of  one  of  its  members,  con- 
tinually in  trouble  because  of  his  fights  on  the  way  home  from 
school.  He  was  a  vigorous,  active  lad  and  his  classmates 
decided  he  ''  didn't  have  enough  to  do  " ;  so  they  sentenced 
him  to  punch  a  hay  bag  in  the  basement  of  the  school  for  ten 
minutes  every  day  before  he  went  home.  The  boy  was  re- 
formed, for  the  instinct  of  physical  activity  worked  itself  off 
before  the  boy  met  others  on  the  way  home,  and  therefore  the 
temptation  was  removed.  The  same  end  might  have  been 
gained  without  the  energy  being  wasted;  but  more  of  just 
such  ingenuity  in  diagnosing  is  needed  in  deaHng  with  all  these 
non-social  instincts  if  their  full  value  is  to  be  reaHzed. 

Exercises 

I.  Give,  or  collect,  examples  of  the  late  development  of  the  use 
of  compound  tenses,  adverbs,  pronouns,  conjunctions. 


58  Psychology  of  Childhood 

2.  Trace  the  stages  necessary  in  transforming  original  food- 
getting  tendencies  into  table  manners.  How  might  schools  help 
in  directing  this  instinct? 

3.  Do  the  same,  in  detail,  for  the  fighting  instinct. 

4.  Observe  instances  of  the  fighting  instinct  in : 
{a)  Adults  in  a  crowd. 

{b)  Young  children  or  animals  held  against  their  will, 
(c)  People  when  aroused  by  fear. 
How  do  the  responses  differ  ? 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  How  is  teasing  different  from  play  ? 

2.  Did  you  make  any  collection  as  a  child?  If  so,  of  what,  and 
at  what  age?  Why  was  it  interesting?  Has  it  led  to  anything 
useful  ? 

3.  Instance  changes  in  methods  and  materials  used  in  teaching 
little  children  that  have  been  made  in  consequence  of  the  formula- 
tion of  the  "fundamental  to  accessory"  theory. 

4.  Name  plays  and  games  that  utilize  any  or  all  of  the  tendencies 
discussed  in  this  chapter. 

References  for  Reading 

Thorndike,  Original  Nature  of  Man,  chs.  6,  10. 

Bolton^  Principles  of  Education,  ch.  7. 

O'Shea,  Linguistic  Development  and  Education,  chs.  2,  3,  4,  5. 

Burk,  Ped.  Sem.,  Vol.  7,  pp.  179-207. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  SOCIAL  INSTINCTS 

In  this  group  of  the  so-called  Social  Instincts,  the  stimulus 
is  the  presence  or  behavior  of  some  human  being.    A  situa- 
tion devoid  of  human  beings  could  not  carry  out  any 
of  these  responses.     This  was  not  true  of  the  former  i^Tnon-^ 
groups.     As  has  already  been  indicated,  the  groups  social  from 
overlap,   some   of   the   non-social   instincts   being  Instincts. 
called  out  by  human  beings,  for  instance,  fighting. 
Both  groups  work  together  in  building  up  a  social  com- 
munity. 

The  social  instincts  to  be  discussed  are :  (i)  Motherly  be- 
havior and  the  aUied  tendencies  of  kindliness  and  sympathy ; 
(2)  gregariousness ;  (3)  desire  for  approval,  and  display; 
(4)  rivalry ;  (5)  imitation ;  (6)  sex  behavior. 

MOTHERLY  BEHAVIOR.  —  Among  the  crude,  violent, 
often  selfish  natural  tendencies,  the  maternal  instinct  with 
its  accompanying  kindliness  and*  sympathy  stands  out  in 
strong  reHef .  This  group  is  one  of  the  roots  of  humaneness ; 
it  is  the  source  of  altruism,  and  of  the  consciousness  of  the 
brotherhood  of  man.  Only  in  connection  with  the  motherly 
instinct  is  the  tender  emotion  found,  that  desire  to  shelter 
that  makes  for  the  warmth  and  intimacy  of  home  relations. 
The  maternal  instinct  is  found  in  both  men  and  women, 
though  in  greater  strength  in  the  latter,^hile  the  responses 
are  different  in  the  two  sexes.  To  babies,  women  tend  to 
respond  by  cuddling,  handling,  kissing,  cooing,  etc.,  and  to 
babies  in  pain  or  discomfort,  there  is  an  added  response  of 
active  measures  for  their  relief.     Men  tend  to  respond  to 

59 


6o  Psychology  of  Childhood 

babies  less  by  tendencies  to  clasp  and  fondle ;  but  tendencies 
to  watch  and  be  interested  in  their  play,  to  feed  and  protect 
them  are  present.  Of  course,  this  general  tendency  to  be  in- 
terested in  babies  becomes  narrowed  and  fixed  by  the  posses- 
sion of  a  baby.  The  maternal  instinct  then  becomes  modified 
by  the  instinct  of  ownership,  and  the  resulting  combination 
is  one  of  the  strongest  motives  in  Hfe.  Parents'  love  for  their 
children  may  become  a  governing  passion,,  overshadowing 
everything  else.  Nothing  is  too  great  fo  give  or  to  bear  for 
the  sake  of  their  children.  The  lives  of  daily  self-sacrifice 
and  denial,  of  longing  and  suffering,  offered  up  for  the  sake 
of  their  children,  none  but  parents  can  know.  And  such 
lives  must  be,  in  most  cases,  their  own  reward,  for  there  seems 
to  be  no  fiHal  instinct  which,  in  return,  makes  children  mind- 
ful of  their  parents.  The  doll-play  of  very  young  children, 
boys  and  girls  aHke,  is  in  some  aspects  an  early,  gradual  ap- 
pearance of  this  instinct,  though  we  have  no  evidence  to  show 
that  the  more  inveterate  doll-player  makes  the  better  parent 
later  on.  But  many  other  tendencies  are  involved  in  doll- 
play,  such  as  manipulation,  fetishism,  desire  for  companion- 
ship, dramatic  representation,  habitation,  collecting,  even 
bullying.  The  more  obvious,  external  analogies  to  parental 
care  should  not  mislead  us  into  thinking  it  a  true  growth  of 
motherly  behavior  instinct  proper. 

Kindliness.  —  KindHness  and  sympathy  are  more  diffuse, 
less  definite  tendencies.  Their  source  seems  to  be,  first,  the 
tendency  to  pay  attention  to  any  other  human  being,  and  to 
relieve  hunger  or  pain ;  and  second,  to  be  satisfied  with  happy 
and  contented  behavior  in  others,  and  to  enjoy  it.  Good- 
will to  men  has  its  roots  in  the  original  nature  of  man.  The 
parental  instinct  alone  often  becomes  narrow  and  selfish; 
these  two  alUed  tendencies  make  for  general  comfort  and 
happiness.  It  is  an  instinct  in  the  human  race  to  make  others 
happy,  and  to  be  happier  because  of  their  happiness.  In 
this  man  transcends  the  animals.     They  show  the  tendency 


The  Social  Instincts  6i 

to  motherly  behavior,  often  suffering  death  in  the  protection 
of  their  young;  but  in  man  we  find  these  tendencies  which 
lead  to  general  community  well-being  very  highly  developed. 
In  these  we  find  the  source  of  disinterested  service  and  benefi- 
cence, and  they  are  involved,  too,  in  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  morals.  It  must  be^ remembered,  however,  that  these 
social  instincts  grow  amidst  a  welter  of  in"dividUa1istic~tenden- 
cies,  and  among  other  social  tendencies  largely  selfish  in 
their  ends.  It  is  therefore  a  very  easy  matter  for  them  to 
be  overlaid,  choked  out,  or  perverted  to  special  and  narrow 
lines.  It  remains  a  fact,  in  spite  of  the  tendency  to  bully, 
that  the  human  race  instinctively  shrinks  from  the  sight  of 
suffering  for  any  of  its  members,  and  revels  in  their  happiness 
and  comfort.  To  retain  these  tendencies  and  yet  adjust  them 
to  the  more  selfish  instincts,  to  develop  them  along  the  lines 
of  practical  service  and  prevent  their  waste  in  mere  effer- 
vescent sentimentality,  to  extend  their  field  from  the  physical 
to  the  realm  of  the  mental  and  spiritual  is  one  of  the  most 
important  duties  of  the  educator. 

Sympathy.  —  Sympathy  in  its  first  crude  form  is  the  result 
of   reflex   imitation.^     The    baby   laughs    and    cries,    looks 
serious  or  is  happy,  is  irritable  or  good  tempered, 
according  to  the  frame  of  mind  of  thg  adult.     Thus  J^^g^^  J 
at  the  begmning  of  life  the  mental  attitudes^  of  develop- 
other  people  affect  the  child  and  make  a  difference  Empathy. 
in  his   own   feelings.     This   form   can  hardly  be 
called  sympathy  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  word,  but  along  with 
the  tendency  towards  kindliness  it  is  the  source  of  the  real, 
conscious  sympathy  which  comes  later.     Somewhere  between 
one  and  four,  most  children  show  another  response,  also  a 
pseudo-sympathy.     They  cry  because  the  doll,  the  engine, 
or  the  flower  is  "  hurt."     This  has  been  called  animistic 
sympathy.     Its  presence  is  probably  due  to  two  reasons. 
In  the  first  place,  the  child  as  a  self-conscious  being  is  not 

1  See  pages  70  to  74  for  fuller  discussion  of  imitation.. 


62  Psychology  of  Childhood 

fully  developed,  he  has  not  yet  distinguished  between  the 
parts  of  his  own  body,  and  the  "  I  "  which  inhabits  that  body. 
His  clothes  and  his  toys,  everything  he  loves,  he  makes  part 
of  himself,  and  therefore  responds  to  the  ills  of  these  material 
objects  as  if  they  were  his  own.  This  at  the  beginning  is 
not  conscious  personification,  but  lack  of  differentiation. 
The  second  reason  is  the  example  of  parents  and  nurses  in 
such  remarks  as,  —  "  Don't  kick  the  chair,  it  hurts."  ''  Poor 
dolly  bumped  her  head  on  the  floor,"  etc.  Children  quickly 
pick  up  this  way  of  talking,  and  it  encourages  this  second 
type  of  sympathy.  The  sentimeptal  type  of  nature  study 
which  gives  flowers  and  seeds,  the  wind  and  the  rain,  feelings 
like  those  of  the  child,  works  toward  the  same  end.  This 
sort  of  thing  is  not  bad,  only  on  general  principles  it  seems 
very  unfortunate  to  do  anything  which  encourages  in  the 
child  false  ideas,  unless  they  must  of  necessity  be  the  only 
way  of  reaching  the  end,  and  that  end  is  worth  while. 

True  S3anpathy  involves  the  ability  to  be  sensitive  to  the 
situation,  to  understand  it,  to  put  one's  self  in  the  place  of 
the  sufferer,  and  then  do  what  may  be  done  to  relieve.  The 
same  holds  true  when  the  sympathy  is  with  joy.  /  Without 
experience  one  lacks  sensitivity  and  ability  to  analyze;  with- 
out imagination  it  is  impossible  to  see  one's  self  as  the  other 
—  to  enter  into  the  suffering  or  the  joy  and  fully  sympathize. 
But  even  these  two  factors  are  not  enough :  one  may  have 
the  experience,  possess  imagination,  but  lack  the  interest  in 
people  which  is  the  necessary  motive  power  in  sympathy. 
Children  in  their  cruelty  to  animals  lack  sympathy  largely 
because  other  instincts  are  for  the  time  being  stronger,  or 
because  their  imagination  never  makes  them  take  the  place 
of  the  animals.  They  lack  sympathy  with  the  joys  and 
sorrows  of  adults,  and  of  those  much  more  fortunate  or  un- 
fortunate than  they  because  of  lack  of  experience.  Adults 
often  are  lacking  in  sympathy  because  of  narrowness  and 
selfishness ;  they  are  not  interested  enough  in  people  to  care 


The  Social  Instincts  63 

i ,. ... 
what  happens  to  them,  —  the  instinct  of  kindliness  has  been 
choked.  This  statement  is  especially  true  when  there  are 
no  signs  of  violent  physical  suffering.  To  keep  alive  the 
instinct  of  kindliness  and  to  develop  true  sympathy  from 
the  crude  roots  are  important  for  social  progress  and  well-being. 
This  means  giving  children  breadth  of  experience,  both  real 
and  vicarious,  developing  their  imaginations  and  develop- 
ing interest  in  people  by  giving  them  opportunities  to  do  things 
for  real  people  in  real  situations. 

GREGARIOUSNESS.  —  In   common  with  many  of  the 
lower  animals,  man  has  the  gregarious  instinct.     He  is  by 
nature  social,  responding  to  the  presence  of  human 
beings  with  satisfaction  and  comfort,  and  to  their  \^r^^does 
absence  by  restlessness  and  discomfort.     Solitude  gregarious- 
ly one  of  the  conditions  he  fears,  and  being  a  mem-  ^tseifT^^ 
ber  of  a  crowd  is  in  itself  a  pleasure.    This  desire  for 
the  presence  of  others  shows  itself  in  babies.     Being  left 
alone  in  the  room  will  often  call  from  the  baby  a  cry  of  dis- 
tress, and  the  adult  human  being  seems  to  afford  the  greatest 
comfort  to  him.     After  babyhood,  the  instinct  shows  itself 
more  particularly  in  desire  for  companions  of  the  same  age, 
although  at  adolescence  there  may  be  a  desire  for  associa- 
tion with  those  older.    It  is  also  true  that  an  adult,  if  left 
alone  in  a  house,  finds  comfort  in  the  presence  of  a  child. 

Value,  for  development.  —  In  savage  communities,  this 
instinct  was  necessary  for  the  procuring  of  food  and  for  pro- 
tection, and  from  it  have  grown  the  social  and  community 
life  which  make  for  civilization  and  progress.  It  is  noticeable 
that  in  general  to-day,  community  of  interests  is  the  tie  that 
binds  groups  together.  It  binds  people  together  in  the  same 
section;  it  causes  people  of  one  nationality  to  congregate 
in  one  section  of  a  city  or  state.  With  this  tendency  as  the 
foundation,  together  with  the  food-getting,  hunting,  and 
fighting  instincts,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  cooperation  developed ; 
but   without   the   gregarious   instincts   bringing   individuals 


64  Psychology  of  Childhood 

together,  making  their  presence  a  satisfaction  and  their  ab- 
sence a  discomfort,  it  is  probable  that  the  so-called  social 
interests  would  have  been  very  slow  to  develop. 

McDougall  illustrates  this  by  the  fact  that  "  On  their  few 
short  holidays  the  working  classes  rush  together  from  town 
and  coimtry  alike  to  those  resorts  in  which  they  are  assured 
of  the  presence  of  a  large  mass  of  their  fellows."  ...  "  How 
much  more  satisfying  is  a  good  play  if  one  sits  in  a  well-filled 
theater  than  if  half  the  seats  are  empty;  especially  if  the 
house  is  unanimous  and  loud  in  the  expression  of  its  feelings." 
But  he  also  thinks  that  in  our  present  state  of  civiHzation, 
it  is  overdeveloped.  He  says,  ''  The  administrative  authori- 
ties have  shown  of  late  years  a  disposition  to  encourage  in 
every  possible  way  the  gregarious  tendency.  On  the  slightest 
occasion  they  organize  some  show  which  shall  draw  huge 
crowds,  many  thousands  of  people  from  their  work  to  spend 
the  day  in  worse  than  useless  idleness,  confirming  their  al- 
ready over-developed  gregarious  instincts.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  excessive  indulgence  of  this  impulse  is 
one  of  the  greatest  demoralizing  factors  of  the  present  time."  ^ 
There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  strength  of  this  instinct.  The 
crowds  that  walk  on  ''  parade  "  thoroughfares,  the  congre- 
gation of  people  at  seaside  resorts  and  at  displays  of  all  kinds, 
are  proofs  of  its  strength.  The  popularity  of  strikes,  the 
difficulty  farmers  have  to  secure  farm-hands,  and  housewives 
have  to  get  house  workers  are  all  somewhat  the  result  of  this 
tendency. 

Importance  in  child  life. —  The  strength  of  this  instinct 
and  its  value  in  developing  the  individual  through  coopera- 
tion with  others  which  it  encourages  make  it  of  great  im- 
portance that  the  child  should  have  companions  of  more  or 
less  his  own  age  The  only  child,  or  the  lonely  child  in  a 
family  who  grows  to  the  age  of  eight  or  nine  with  no  play- 
fellows of  his  own  age,  loses  much  that  is  difficult  to  make 

1  McDougall,  Social  Psychology,  pp.  96  and  298. 


I 


The  Social  Instincts  65 


up  later.  For  such  a  child,  attendance  at  kindergarten  and 
school  may  be  the  best  possible  help.  This  tendency  shows 
itself  in  children  during  the  pre-adolescent  years,  especially  in 
the  so-called  "  gang  "  instinct  so  prominent  during  the  years 
ten  to  fifteen.  The  spread  of  this  tendency  is  hardly  recog- 
nized by  adults.  Sheldon^  found  934  different  societies  or 
clubs  among  1139  boys,  and  911  societies  to  which  1145  gi^^s 
belonged.  Puffer ^  says  ''it  is  safe  to  say  that  three  out  of 
every  four  boys  belong  to  a  gang  " ;  only  21  per  cent  of  the 
13-year-old  boys  interrogated  had  never  belonged  to  a  gang, 
and  26  per  cent  of  the  12-year-old  boys.  This  instinct  has 
bound  up  with  it  the  desire  for  physical  activity,  the  love  of 
adventure,  and  the  interest  of  getting  results  which  count. 

Swift  in  his  book  entitled  "  Youth  and  the  Race  "  points 
out  how  the  school,  especially  at  this  period,  occupied  as  it 
is  with  fact-getting  and  drill,  ignores,  frustrates,  and  an- 
tagonizes these  innate  tendencies  at  every  turn.  He  says, 
"  The  school  is  composed  of  two  opposing  forces :  the  one, 
the  teacher,  trying  to  win  attention  by  creating  factitious 
interests,  and  the  other,  the  children,  momentarily  attracted 
by  these  devices  but  always  watchful  of  a  chance  to  assert 
their  social  selves.  .  .  ,  We  have  seen  that  the  same  subjects 
of  study  are  tedious  under  the  ordinary  class  method  and 
interesting  when  made  the  order  of  business  in  a  club  of  the 
members  of  the  class  of  which  the  teacher  is  an  integral  but 
inconspicuous  part.  The  club  idea  appeals  to  the  racial  in- 
stincts of  love  of  glory  —  showing  off  and  personal  competi- 
tion, both  of  which  are  elements  in  the  group  sentiment."  ^ 
It  is  certainly  true  that  this  tendency  contains  much  of  value, 
and  it  is  the  business  of  the  school  at  this  time,  as  at  all  others, 
to  make  use  of  the  energy  the  child  has  and  to  mold  and  direct 
the  tendencies  which  are  hereditary. 

The  attempts  at  ignoring  or  suppressing  this  instinct  are 

1  Am.  J.  Psych.,  Vol.  9,  p.  249.  2  Ped.  Sem.,  Vol.  12,  p.  176. 

3  Youth  and  the  Race,  p.  285. 


66  Psychology  of  Childhood 

the  cause  of  much  of  the  problems  of  discipline  in  the  schools 
and  of  the  juvenile  delinquency  which  troubles  the  courts  of 
the  big  cities.  The  fact  that  the  schools,  many  of  them,  are 
so  organized  that  this  instinct  is  not  given  opportunity  to 
work  itself  out  in  connection  with  the  school  work  is  the 
cause  of  much  of  the  dissatisfaction  with  school  in  boys  of 
eleven  and  twelve,  as  well  as  the  cause  of  much  of  the  dropping 
out  from  the  sixth  and  seventh  grades.  However,  recent 
broadening  of  the  school  duties  and  functions  is  in  line  with 
a  fuller  provision  for  the  gregarious  instinct  in  its  various  forms. 
The  school  playgrounds,  school  government,  the  more  ex- 
tended use  of  the  school  plant  for  clubs  and  societies  and  classes 
of  all  kinds,  as  well  as  the  changes  in  classroom  method,  — 
^all  these  movements  help  towards  a  fuller  recognition  of  the 
child  nature  in  the  pre-adolescent  years. 

DESIRE  FOR  APPROVAL,  AND  DISPLAY.  —  Man's 
attitude  towards  approval  and  scorn  is  part  of  his  original 
equipment.  By  nature  he  is  satisfied  and  made  happy  by 
approving  looks,  smiles,  hand-touches  of  those  about  him 
felt  to  be  equal  or  superior,  or  the  admiring  glances  of  in- 
feriors, and  he  is  made  uncomfortable  by  scowls,  frowns, 
derisive  looks  and  jeers.  Love,  respect,  or  admiration  for 
those  administering  the  approval  or  the  disapproval  of  course 
intensifies  its  effect. 

Differences    with    maturity.  —  In    connection    with    this 

innate  desire  for  approval,  the  human  being  has  also  the 

tendency  towards  display.     To  "  show  off  "  is  in- 

How  do  the    stinctive ;  every  one  has  the  tendency  to  do  it  in 

responses  /  y  ,  i  i  •  i 

o/  the  dis-  the  presence  of  those  from  whom  he  wishes  to  win 
cha4TM  approval.  From  the  ''see  me "  of  the  baby, 
age?  through  the  strut  or  other  special  gait  of  the  ado- 

lescent to  the  adult  who  *'  puts  the  best  foot  first," 
the  tendency  is  the  natural  one  of  winning  approving  responses 
by  means  of  display.  The  power  shown  and  the  persons  from 
whom  approval  is  demanded  or  scorn  avoided  change  as  the 


The  Social  Instincts  67 

child  grows  older  and  experience  modifies  his  first  crude 
reactions.  At  first,  the  display  is  of  new  things  learned, 
new  words,  new  tricks,  or  new  manners;  in  childhood  it  is 
often  physical  skill  or  powers.  It  is  at  this  latter  stage  that 
competition  plays  such  a  large  part  in  connection  with  the 
display  of  various  feats.  In  adolescence  the  display  may 
include  intellectual  and  moral  qualities;  it  is  in  connection 
with  these  also  that  the  adult  tries  to  win  approval.  The 
persons  from  whom  the  approval  is  most  desired  are  at  first 
the  adults  of  the  immediate  family,  usually  the  mother;  as 
the  child  enters  the  school  world  the  opinion  of  the  teacher 
becomes  of  first  importance;  with  the  prominence  of  the 
"  gang  "  spirit  in  pre-adolescent  and  adolescent  years,  the 
opinion  of  companions  of  the  chosen  group  becomes  the 
most  compelling  influence  in  the  child's  Hfe.  If  there  is' 
hero-worship  at  this  time,  of  course  the  approval  of  the  hero 
often  becomes  more  valuable  to  the  boy  or  girl  than  even 
what  the  others  think.  The  adult  seeks  the  Approval  of 
friends  and  acquaintances  and  society  at  large. 

The  power  of  the  prevailing  customs'^or  traditions  to  hold 
men  and  women  to  certain  lines  of  conduct  is  due  largely  to 
their  fear  of  public  scorn  and  love  of  pubUc  approval.  Why 
do  men  wear  stiff  collars  when  soft  ones  would  often  be  more 
comfortable  ?  Why  do  women  buy  a  new  hat  fall  and  spring, 
or  at  least  have  the  old  one  made  over,  when  it  is  perfectly 
good  and  more  becoming  than  the  new  one?  "  The  institu- 
tion of  tipping,  which  began  perhaps  in  kindliness  and  was 
fostered  by  economic  self  interest,  is  now  well-nigh  impreg- 
nable because  no  man  is  brave  enough  to  withstand  the  scorn 
of  a  line  of  lackeys  whom  he  heartily  despises,  or  of  a  few 
onlookers  whom  he  will  never  see  again,"  ^  It  is  true  that 
''  The  strength  of  the  regard  men  pay  to  public  opinion,  the 
strength  of  their  desire  to  secure  the  approval  and  avoid  the 
disapproval   of   their   fellowmen,   goes   beyond   all   rational 

^  Thorndike,  op.  cit.,  p.  90. 


68  Psychology  of  Childhood 

grounds  ** ;  but  as  has  been  shown  it  is  a  natural  tendency 
of  great  power,  and  it  needs  direction  rather  than  suppres- 
sion, for  in  it  are  elements  that  lead  to  the  higher  develop- 
ment of  the  individual  and  society,  elements  of  value  and  of 
strength.  McDougall  sayi  concerning  it,  **  For  the  praise 
and  blame  of  our  fellows,  especially  ai  exprened  by  the  voice 
of  public  opinion,  are  the  principal  and  most  effective  sanc- 
tions of  moral  conduct  for  the  great  mass  of  men ;  without 
them  few  of  us  would  rise  above  the  level  of  mere  law-abid- 
ingness,  the  mere  avoidance  of  acts  on  which  legal  punishment 
surely  follows;  and  the  strong  regard  for  social  approval 
and  disapproval  constitutes  an  essential  stage  of  the  prog- 
ress to  the  higher  plane  of  morality,  the  plane  of  obligation  to 
an  ideal  of  conduct. '^  ^  It  is  the  business  of  the  school  to  see 
that  this  progression  takes  place,  and  it  cannot  come  through 
the  ignoring  of  the  root  motive.  Appeal  to  love  of  approval 
is  perfectly  legitimate,  provided  both  the  kind  of  appeal  and 
the  kind  of  approval  desired  are  progressive.  *The  pergonal/ 
approval  of  the  teacher  for  good  work  is  a  legitimate  appeal 
for  children  of  primary  school  age,  but  that  same  nppeal 
made  to  high-school  students  is  not,  for  they  are  (  ip.ihh  of 
response  to  a  higher  type.  It  is  only  by  means  of  i  >  i  < .; '  i  <  i  < 
appeals  that  the  child  learns  to  distinguish  betweoi  <  oniu'  i 
due  to  the  force  of  public  opinion,  and  that  which  is  m  ohii>;i 
tion  to  an  ideal  of  conduct. 

RIVALRY.  — •  Rivalry  or  emulation  as  an  instinct  i-.  n  u  illy 
taken  for  granted,  but  it  has  been  left  in  gencii.  v.ij^ue 
^^^^  ^^^  terms.  Both  McDougall  and  Thomdike  have  re- 
th«°vaZlB  cently  pointed  out  that  it  is  not  such  an  all-in- 
ofthe  elusive   tendency  as  has  been  supposed.    It  is 

^MUnctr       probable  that  as  a  matter  of  original  nature,  apart 
from  learning,  the  impulse  of  rivalry  shows  itself 
only  in  connection  with  activities  which  are  in  themselves 
instinctive.    Man,  luinting  or  collecting  or  reaching  out  for 
'  op.  cil.t  pp.  188,  i8g. 


The  Social  Instincts  69 

things  or  trying  to  win  approval,  works  more  energetically 
when  fellow  creatures  are  doing  the  same  things,  and  feels 
keener  satisfaction  at  success  or  keener  disappointment  at 
failure  than  when  he  works  alone.  Though  this  is  the  crude 
foundation  upon  which  experience  builds  all  the  later  habits 
of  rivalry,  it  still  remains  true,  however,  that  it  is  much 
easier  to  appeal  to  the  interest  in  surpassing  others  in  such 
things  as  sports  and  games,  than  in  situations  when  the 
quality  concerned  is  moral  or  intellectual.  To  use  the  in- 
stinct of  rivalry  in  the  gymnasium  to  get  a  boy  to  lengthen 
his  jump  is  easy,  but  to  use  it  in  making  a  boy  more  studious 
or  more  truthful  is  very  much  more  difficult. 

Dynamic  value.  —  The  strength  of  the  crude  instinct  is 
shown  by  the  power  it  has  gained  in  its  modified  forms  in  all 
departments  of  life.  It  is  competition  which  speeds  up  the 
wheels  in  the  business  world.  It  is  said  of  Bismarck  that 
"  There  was  nothing  a  rival  could  say  or  do  but  Bismarck  if  he 
chose,  would  say  or  do  something  which  made  it  appear  a 
failure."  The  attitude  which  controls  men  to-day  every- 
where in  the  endeavor  to  outdo  the  next  man  in  business, 
to  make  appearance,  to  have  a  better  house,  even  to  have 
children  surpassing  his  —  this  motive  is  the  controlling  one 
in  the  lives  of  the  majority  of  men  and  women.  It  appears 
in  art  and  literature.  Even  the  churches  are  not  free  from 
it ;  to  send  more  money  to  missions,  to  have  a  larger  congre- 
gation, to  have  more  people  join  the  church  during  a  year  is 
a  positive  satisfaction. 

Danger  of  overdevelopment.  —  The  dangers  from  such  an 
attitude  can  be  readily  seen;  it  is  working  in  opposition  to 
kindliness  and  sympathy,  and  is  often  antagonistic 
to  cooperation.     Yet  the  instinct  of  rivalry  is  a  other7end- 
force  of  tremendous  power,  —  a  force  necessary  in  endesdoes 
such  a  complex  civilization  as  ours  to  make  for  the  ^conflict? 
best  development,   to  weed  out  the  useless  and 
crown  individual  effort  and  ability  with  success.    This  end 


yo  Psychology  of  Childhood 

is  the  ideal,  and  it  cannot  be  attained  unless  educators  frankly 
recognize  this  part  of  the  child's  original  equipment,  realizing 
its  value  while  facing  at  the  same  time  the  dangers  of  its 
misuse.  To  train  a  child  so  that  the  motive  of  rivalry  will 
work  in  the  higher  fields  of  intellect  and  character  instead 
of  only  in  the  field  of  the  physical  and  material,  is  well  worth 
while.  So  to  train  him  that  individual  competition  becomes 
group  competition  is  to  train  for  unselfishness.  When  the 
group  concerned  is  not  merely  his  ''  gang,"  but  a  larger  group 
composed  not  only  of  friends  but  also  of  strangers,  all  of  whom 
are  working  for  a  common  end  against  another  similarly  con- 
stituted group,  much  has  been  done  towards  developing  a 
social  consciousness.  But  the  child  must  be  met  at  the  level 
of  his  development.  To  overemphasize  group  work  and 
group  competition  in  the  kindergarten  and  early  primary 
grades  when  individual  competition  is  so  strong  is  contrary 
to  the  nature  of  the  child.  On  the  other  hand,  to  give  Httle 
or  no  group  work  in  the  upper  primary  and  grammar  grades 
at  a  time  when  the  gang  spirit  is  developing,  and  therefore 
when  group  competition  could  easily  be  appealed  to,  is  waste- 
ful. The  process  must  be  progression,  from  individual  to 
group,  from  lower  levels  to  higher;  but  the  start  must  be 
made  with  the  crude  form  and  not  at  some  stage  far  in  ad- 
vance. This  tendency,  like  all  the  others  discussed,  is  in 
the  child  to  be  used  and  modified,  not  just  to  be  accepted, 
nor  to  be  ignored. 

IMITATION  AS  AN  INSTINCT.  — To  include  imita- 
tion as  an  important  instance  in  all  lists  of  instincts  has  been 
customary.  Imitation  has  been  defined  as  the  tendency  by  one 
individual  to  copy  the  actions  or  movements  of  other  individu- 
als. James  says  :  ^  "  This  sort  of  imitativeness  is  possessed  by 
man  in  common  with  other  gregarious  animals  and  is  an  in- 
stinct in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  term."  Kirkpa trick  defines  it 
"  as  Ihe  tendency  to  repeat  what  has  been  perceived,  especially 

^  Psychology,  Vol.  2,  p.  408. 


The  Social  Instincts  71 

the  sounds  and  movements  made  by  others  of  the  same  species. '^ 
''Everything,  from  the  crowing  of  chickens  to  the  whistle  of  a 
locomotive,  from  the  wriggling  of  a  snake  to  the  preaching  of 
a  sermon,  is  imitated.  Nothing  in  his  environment,  physical 
or  social,  escapes  the  child."  ^  This  is  the  historic  view  of 
imitation,  but  some  more  recent  writers  have  questioned  the 
existence  in  the  instinctive  form  of  such  a  wholesale  tendency 
to  reproduce  in  one's  self  one's  environment.  Cooley  writes, 
''  The  '  imitative  instinct '  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  if  it 
were  a  mysterious  something  that  enabled  the  child  to  per- 
form involuntarily  and  without  preparation  acts  that  are 
quite  new  to  him.  .  .  .  This  doing  of  new  things  without 
definite  preparation,  either  in  heredity  or  experience,  would 
seem  to  involve  something  like  special  creation  in  the  mental 
and  nervous  organism ;  and  the  imitation  of  children  has  no 
such  character.  It  is  quite  evidently  an  acquired  power, 
and  if  the  act  imitated  is  at  all  complex  the  learning  process 
involves  a  good  deal  of  thought  and  will."  ^  Thorndike  in 
discussing  the  same  subject  says,  ''  On  the  whole,  the  imita- 
tive tendencies  which  pervade  human  life  and  which  are 
among  the  most  powerful  forces  with  and  against  which 
education  and  social  reform  work,  are,  for  the  most  part,  not 
original  tendencies  to  respond  to  behavior  seen  by  duplicating 
it  in  the  same  mechanical  way  that  one  responds  to  light  by 
contracting  the  pupil,  but  must  be  explained  as  the  results  of 
the  arousal,  by  the  behavior  of  other  men,  of  either  special 
instinctive  responses  or  ideas  and  impulses  which  have  formed, 
in  the  course  of  experience,  connections  with  that  sort  of 
behavior."  ^  McDougall,  too,  denies  the  existence  of  a 
general  instinct  of  imitation. 

It  is  specialized.  —  That  there  is  an  instinct  of  imitation 
is  not  being  questioned  by  any  of  the  writers  quoted,  but  their 

*  Fundamentals  of  Child  Study,  pp.  58  and  131. 
2  Human  Nature  and  the  Social  Order,  p.  26. 
'  The  Original  Nature  of  Man,  p.  122. 


72  Psychology  of  Childhood 

contention  is  that  it  is  very  much  less  general,  very  much 
more  highly  specialized  than  was  commonly  believed.  The 
trend  of  opinion  at  present  is  to  deny  an  instinctive  basis  to 
any  of  the  forms  of  imitation,  save  the  form  known  as  ''  re- 
flex "  imitation.  Man  laughs,  cries,  runs,  looks,  frowns, 
snatches,  crouches,  and  hunts  when  others  do  because  of  an 
instinctive  tendency.  This  is  the  crude  root  from  which  the 
other  forms  spring.  That  other  forms,  i.e.  "  spontaneous  " 
and  "  voluntary,"  exist  is  no  doubt  true  but  they  are  habits, 
learned  and  built  up  just  as  any  other  habits  are  learned.        ^ 

Most  imitation  is  due  to  habit.  —  The  chief  reasons  for 
denying  a  general  instinct  of  imitation  are  three :  First,  it  is 
difficult  to  see  how  the  nervous  system  could  be  arranged  in 
order  to  provide  such  an  instinct ;  second,  the  higher  animals, 
even  the  monkeys,  prove  to  be  lacking  in  any  such  general 
tendency;  third,  the  close  observers  of  children  fail  to  find 
evidence  of  a  general  tendency  to  imitate. 

If  this  point  of  view  is  correct  and  imitation  is  largely  habit, 

then  the  educator  has  a  much  greater  control  over  it,  for 

it  must  be  governed  by  the  same  laws  which  con- 

Whatare  ,   ,  .         .  ■,       -,       ^  r  •  t 

some  ad-  trol  learnmg  m  general,  the  laws  of  exercise  and 
^^tathnf  ^^^^^'  The  child  imitates  his  fellows  in  all  sorts  of 
ways  because  satisfaction  has  been  derived  from 
such  action,  not  because  he  cannot  help  it.  For  the  same 
reason  the  youth  apes  his  elders  and  one  nation  imitates 
another.  The  force  of  these  habits  has  already  been  pointed 
out.  "  Imitation  is  the  prime  condition  of  all  collective 
mental  life."  Custom  and  tradition  in  all  fields  are  but  an 
expression  of  its  power.  Because  it  has  been  found  that  the 
imitation  of  the  thing  in  vogue,  no  matter  what  it  may  be, 
brings  public  approval,  and  the  violation  of  the  prevaiHng 
custom  brings  scorn  and  criticism,  man  does  and  thinks  as 
others  of  his  group  do  and  think.  This  tendency  may  be 
seen  in  politics,  education,  and  religion,  as  well  as  in  the  trivial 
matters  of  dress.     Young  men  vote  as  their  fathers  do,  and 


The  Social  Instincts  73 

sliow  the  attitude  towards  religious  matters  which  is  that  of 
their  family  and  their  community.  The  dangers  of  such 
habits  are  evident ;  mechanically  used,  they  make  for  stagna- 
tion instead  of  progress,  for  dependence  and  bUnd  following 
instead  of  independence  and  originality.  Some  communities 
and  even  nations  are  examples  of  imitation  "  run  to  seed." 

Value  of  imitation.  —  Despite  these  very  grave  dangers, 
the  fact  of  imitation  is  of  inestimable  value  to  the  human 
race,  and  the  crude  root  instinct  is  one  of  humanity's  most 
valuable  assets.  It  is  the  great  conservative  power  by  means 
of  which  the  culture,  inventions,  ideals  of  each  generation 
are  passed  on  to  the  next.  By  means  of  habits  of  imitation 
the  child  can  very  much  abridge  the  tiresome  method  of 
learning  by  trial  and  error,  and  can  learn  what  his  father 
knows  in  very  much  shorter  time.  It  is  also  a  great  power 
for  progress,  both  for  the  nation  and  the  individual ;  for  the 
former  in  that  by  this  means  the  ideas  and  ideals  of  especially 
gifted  minds  come  to  be  adopted  by  large  numbers  of  people ; 
for  the  latter,  in  that  it  permits  him  to  gain  a  large  variety 
of  experience,  and  therefore  to  grow  in  originality.  It  is  the 
means  by  which  ''  the  child  is  led  on  from  the  Ufe  of  mere 
animal  impulse  to  the  life  of  self-control,  deliberation  and 
true  volition.  And  it  has  played  a  similar  part  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  human  race  and  of  society." 

As  a  method  of  learning  then,  it  is  to  be  encouraged  in  all 
fields,  —  in  art,  in  literature,  in  industry,  in  teaching,  in 
morals,  in  character,  imitation  is  well  worth  while.  Few, 
very  few,  will  go  to  the  second  stage,  that  of  constructive 
leadership,  fewer  still  will  think  things  out  for  themselves; 
the  vast  majority  in  all  departments  of  Hfe  will  be  the  fol- 
lowers. Well  for  them  if  in  their  lives  they  conserve  the 
best  that  both  the  past  ages  and  the  present  have  to  offer. 
For  all,  imitation  must  not  be  merely  a  means  of  gaining 
public  approval  by  the  slavish  following  of  the  present  mode, 
but  should  involve  conscious  choice  of  models,  should  in- 


74  Psychology  of  Childhood 

volve  analysis  of  the  method  of  gaining  results  comparable 
with  the  model  in  order  that  attainment  may  more  nearly 
measure  up  with  ideals.  This  use  of  imitation  involves  judg- 
ment and  choice,  constructive  imagination  and  independent 
work.  With  a  background  of  experience  of  imitating  various 
models,  say  in  music  or  in  literature,  the  individual  may  then 
fairly  be  called  upon  to  give  his  own  interpretation,  and  to 
produce  something  original.  Thus  in  rhythmic  order,  imita- 
tion is  succeeded  by  invention,  and  that  in  turn  by  new  and 
fuller  imitations,  and  thus  the  scale  ascends.  It  follows, 
therefore,  that  the  work  of  the  educator  in  connection  with 
imitation  is :  to  build  on  to  reflex  imitation  habits  of  imitation 
of  all  kinds ;  to  develop  judgment  and  analysis  in  connection 
with  choice  of  models  and  methods;  to  require  a  balancing 
of  results  in  comparison  with  the  model;  to  provide  many 
and  varied  models  to  encourage  invention,  independence, 
originaHty  as  a  result  of  varied  imitations. 

SEX  mSTINCT.  —  That  the  sex  instinct,  the  instinct 
which  leads  to  the  reproduction  of  the  race,  is  one  of  the 
strongest,  if  not  the  strongest  that  man  possesses,  needs  no 
emphasis.  The  structure  of  society  voices  its  strength,  while 
literature,  art,  and  music  are  evidences  of  its  beauty.  This 
instinct  should  not  be  confused  with  the  instinct  of  motherly 
behavior ;  the  two  are  distinct,  although  they  are  probably 
related,  and  they  exist  in  different  degrees  of  development 
in  the  same  individual. 

Stages  and  fields  of  development.  —  Real  knowledge  con- 
cerning the  course  of  development  of  the  sex  instinct  is  only 
Distinguish  ^^^  being  obtained,  and  there  is  much  disagree- 
between  the  ment  concerning  most  of  the  important  points. 
thep^cfdcai  ^his  fact  is  due  to  the  cloak  of  silence  and  insinua- 
sideofthe  tion  of  shame  that  tradition  has  thrown  about 
everything  connected  with  sex,  and  to  the  difficulty 
of  observing  the  stages  of  its  development  in  children.  The 
common  viewpoint   has    been  that  the    child  ''  matured " 


The  Social  Instinct^  75 

at  adolescence,  that  this  maturing  was  accompanied  by 
certain  physical  signs  which  are  the  conditions  of  the  presence 
of  the  sex  instinct.  According  to  Moll,  this  opinion  con- 
tains two  errors.  In  the  first  place  "  maturing  "  occurs  on 
the  average  much  sooner  than  the  so-called  adolescent  age, 
and  in  the  second  place,  the  presence  of  the  sex  impulse  is 
not  dependent  on  these  physical  signs.  The  evidence  shows 
that  the  sex  instinct  begins  its  development  before  eight 
years  of  age,  and  continues  to  grow  in  strength,  though  not 
continuously,  up  to  maturity.  Processes  occurring  in  two 
distinctly  different  fields  combine  to  make  up  the  sex  impulse 
proper.  The  first  set  of  processes  go  on  in  the  physical  realm 
wholly,  and  consist  of  the  various  sensations,  nerve  disturb- 
ances, reflexes,  secretions,  and  the  like,  which  together  are 
called  the  phenomena  of  de tumescence.  The  second  set  are 
in  the  psychic  realm,  and  include  the  various  attractions, 
fallings  in  love  and  kindred  emotions,  also  the  sentiments  of 
disgust,  shame,  and  modesty,  which  together  make  up  the 
phenomena  of  con  tree  tation.  In  the  normal  adult  these 
two  sets  of  impulses  are  coordinated  and  synchronized;  but 
during  the  long  development  of  childhood  and  early  ado- 
lescence either  set  may  occur  independently  of  the  other. 

Normal   and   abnormal   development.  —  In   the   first,   or 
neutral,  period  of  earliest  childhood  practically  no  contrecta- 
tion   impulses    are    felt;  and    such   detumescence 
processes  as  are  present  are  felt  but  vaguely  with  of  develop-^ 
little    sex    consciousness    or    localized    sensations  mentdoes 
except  in  pathological  cases.     This  period  is  fol-  showT^^^ 
lowed   by    the    undifferentiated    stage,    beginning 
usually  about  the  eighth  year  of  life,  sometimes  as  early  as 
the  fifth,  occasionally  not  till  the  tenth  and  lasting  till  the 
age  of  fifteen  or  so,  in  some  cases  up  to  even  twenty  years 
old.     During    this   period    the    contrectation    impulses    fre- 
quently become  very  marked;  children  form  strong  attach- 
ments for  other  children  or  for  adults  of  either  sex,  some- 


76  Psychology  of  Childhood 

times  even  for  animals,  but  there  may  be  quite  a  succession 
of  these  objects  of  affection.  These  impulses  are  expressed 
by  taking  every  chance  to  see,  be  with,  touch,  kiss,  or  em- 
brace the  person  who  is  for  the  time  being  the  one  beloved, 
or  even,  in  a  sort  of  fetishism,  any  article  belonging  to,  or 
touched  by  that  one.  Romantic  dreams,  blind  jealousy 
mingled  with  passionate  devotion  often  produce  most  erratic 
conduct,  from  slavish  imitation  to  outbursts  of  wild  display. 
Cases  of  ''  calf-love "  and  ''  crushes "  are  illustrations  of 
these  complexes.  All  this  does  not  mean  to  imply  that  every 
case  of  enthusiastic  friendship  is  a  manifestation  of  the  sex 
instinct,  either  in  this  period  or  the  succeeding  one ;  but  that, 
very  frequently,  the  incompletely  developed  instinct  does 
show  itself  for  a  while  in  this  form.  In  the  genuine,  sex- 
dominated  loves,  however,  there  may  be  lacking  every  simul- 
taneous, localized  sex-feeling  proper,  especially  any  conscious 
connection  for  the  child  with  physical  changes  and  processes ; 
though  sometimes  the  keen  desire  for  close  proximity  leads 
to  undesirable  practices,  not  to  say  real  risks.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  coincidence  in  adolescence  of  a  rush  of  affection 
and  of  an  involuntary  orgasm  may  come  as  a  complete  sur- 
prise to  the  individual  experiencing  it. 

During  the  undifferentiated  stage,  as  the  body  gradually 
matures  and  the  secondary  sexual  characteristics  appear, 
there  may  be  exhibited,  quite  independent  of  the  psychic 
symptoms,  various  tendencies  which  need  careful  watching 
lest  they  harden  into  habits  and  develop  into  perversions 
later  on.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  exhibitionism, 
masturbation,  skatophiha,  mutual  malpractice  with  either 
sex  including  masochistic  and  sadistic  acts.  The  instincts 
of  curiosity,  love  of  novel  experiences  and  of  sensations  for 
their  own  sake,  combined  with  manipulation  are  quite  suffi- 
cient to  account  for  the  easy  start  of  bad  habits,  especially  if 
a  feeling  of  shame  and  a  tendency  to  secretiveness  are  fostered 
by  an  unwise  atmosphere  of  concealment  and  suppression 


The  Social  Instincts  yj 

on  the  part  of  the  adults.  Later,  in  the  fully  developed  stage, 
the  contrectation  impulses  center  themselves  normally  about 
a  member  of  the  opposite  sex  of  near  age,  the  body  so  matures 
that  the  complete  sexual  act  is  possible,  and,  as  stated  before, 
the  two  sets  of  impulses  are  felt  in  connection  with  each  other. 
There  is  great  individual  variation  in  the  time  of  the  beginning 
of  these  stages  just  as  there  is  in  the  time  of  the  onset  of 
puberty;  but,  as  in  the  latter,  girls  are  apt  to  be  a  year  or 
two  ahead  of  boys  of  the  same  age. 

Sex  education.  —  Failure  to  progress  from  the  undifferen- 
tiated stage  may  involve  abnormal  psychic  tendencies  in 
adult  life  such  as  fetishism,   sexual    anaesthesia, 
homosexuality,  and  the  Hke  even  though  in  mild  year^rton 
forms.     It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  recognize  the  important 
significance  of  the  period  of  childhood  for  the  train-  cation?   "" 
ing  of  healthy-minded,  really  moral  adults.     We 
must  not  make  the  mistake  of  supposing  we  can  ignore  this 
instinct,  so  vital  to  the  social  welfare,  in  the  years  before 
the  obvious  signs  of  maturity  are  present.     From  the  stand- 
point of  child  psychology,  the  chief  questions  of  importance 
are :  (i)  What  means  should  be  taken  to  keep  the  develop- 
ment normal?  (2)  What  knowledge  should  be  given  the  child, 
when,  and  by  whom  ?     (3)  What  is  the  duty  of  teachers  towards 
the  child  so  far  as  this  instinct  is  concerned  ? 

Training.  —  In  answering  the  first  question,  —  on  the 
physical  side  undue  activity  of  the  instinct  is  prevented  by 
encouraging  much  physical  outdoor  exercise,  by  not  allow- 
ing the  child  to  sleep  with  another,  nor  to  be  too  warmly 
covered  in  bed,  nor  to  stay  long  in  bed  after  he  is  awake ;  by 
seeing  to  it  that  the  genitals  are  kept  absolutely  clean,  and 
that  the  clothing  is  not  tight,  by  not  allowing  the  handling 
of  the  parts  by  the  child  nor  by  any  one  else ;  by  being  on 
the  watch  to  eliminate  corporal  punishment,  bicycle  or  horse- 
back riding,  gymnastic  exercise  such  as  vaulting  or  pole 
climbing  if  any  sex  excitement  results.     On  the  mental  side, 


yS  Psychology  of  Childhood 

care  must  be  taken  that  the  attitude  toward  all  sex  matters 
is  not  that  of  shame,  nor  of  mystery,  nor  that  of  frivolity,  nor 
vulgar  familiarity,  but  one  of  wholesome,  dignified  frankness ; 
that  the  child  forms  no  impure  associations  with  such  matters, 
due  to  bad  companions  or  books  or  pictures ;  that  ideals  of 
purity,  of  reverence  for  parents,  of  the  sacredness  and  use  of 
the  sex  function  be  built  up  from  the  beginning. 

Instruction.  —  As  to  the  second  question,  **  What  knowl- 
edge should  be  given  the  child,  when,  and  by  whom?  "  there  is 
much  difference  of  opinion.  Moll  says,  "  The  sexual  en- 
lightenment of  the  child  is  advisable.  The  biological  processes 
of  sex  in  the  vegetable  and  lower  animal  world  may  be  taught 
in  school  as  early  as  the  second  period  of  childhood  "  (between 
the  ages  of  seven  and  fourteen).  "  A  warning  against  the 
dangers  of  venereal  infection  may  be  given  at  school  to  the 
senior  pupils  shortly  before  they  leave,  or  at  some  similar 
suitable  opportunity.  But  for  effecting  enlightenment  re- 
garding the  processes  of  the  individual  sexual  life,  the  school 
y  is  unsuitable ;  this  matter  can  best  be  undertaken  by  'some 
^  private  person,  and  above_aU  by  the  nio^r.  Choice  of  the 
time  for  the  last  phase  of  the  sexual  enlightenment  must  be 
guided,  in  part  by  the  questions  of  the  child,  in  part  by  the 
child's  physical  maturity,  but  more  especially  by  the  indica- 
tions of  psychosexual  development."  ^  In  this  connection 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  question  does  not  involve  a 
choice  of  giving  or  withholding  certain  information;  chil- 
1 1  dren  get  it  anyway.  The  question  is  rather,  shall  it  come  from 
a  reliable  source  in  a  way  to  establish  confidence  and  sympathy, 
with  sacred  and  beautiful  associations,  or  shall  it  come  from 
companions  on  the  street,  perverted,  untrue,  and  with  coarse 
and  brutal  associations?  It  seems  safe  to  answer  children's 
questions  frankly  and  truthfully  so  far  as  their  age  will  per- 
mit understanding.  It  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  instruction  should  be  positive  and  constructive,  dealing 
»  The  Sexual  Llfeortheniild,  p.  298. 


The  Social  Instincts  79 

with  the  normal  and  leading  to  high  ideals  and  principles, 
not  negative  with  the  emphasis  on  perversion,  and  the  need  of 
avoiding  disease.  Bigelow  instances  five  types  of  people 
who  are  not  qualified  as  teachers  along  these  Hnes :  (i)  those 
who  cannot  talk  calmly  and  dispassionately  on  the  topic; 
(2)  those  with  abnormal  outlook  on  Hfe,  who  are  too  readily 
influenced  by  psychopathic  Hterature;  (3)  insufficiently  in- 
formed people,  who  tend  to  stress  the  abnormal  in  their  presen- 
tation because  of  hasty  preparation;  (4)  people  who  are 
pessimistic  as  a  result  of  unfortunate  personal  experiences; 
(5)  those  of  flippant  attitude  and  questionable  ethical  be- 
havior who  cannot  command  the  respect  of  their  pupils. 
School  teachers  of  nature  study,  biology,  literature,  and  civics 
have  opportunities  not  only  of  giving  knowledge  but  of 
creating  the  right  attitude  to  the  facts.  Playground  di- 
rectors, the  gymnasium  teacher,  the  school  nurse,  the  physi- 
"cian  may  all  add  to  the  knowledge  along  different  lines  and 
watch  over  the  formation  of  good  habits.  Club  leaders, 
pastors,  social  directors  find  still  another  avenue  of  ap- 
proach and  field  for  training.  Above  all,  the  home  is  the 
first  and  most  natural  environment  in  which  sex  knowl- 
edge may  be  given  if  the  parents  are  really  awake  to  their 
responsibility. 

The  teacher^ s  duty.  —  "  What  is  the  teacher's  duty  in  all 
this?  "  Just  the  same  as  it  has  been  in  connection  with  the 
other  instincts,  to  prevent  its  overdevelopment,  to  adjust  it 
to  other  instincts,  to  direct  it  into  the  highest  possible  chan- 
nels. This  means  that  a  teacher  should  know  the  facts  re- 
garding sex  development,  should  know  the  precautions  to 
be  taken  to  prevent  undue  excitement,  and  should  know  the 
signs  of  abnormahty  so  that  medical  advice  could  be  given 
to  a  child  when  needed.  She  should  be  ready  to  give  neces- 
sary information  to  the  child  if  the  parents  will  not,  or  can- 
not; and  she  should  realize,  especially  if  her  work  is  with 
an  ignorant  class  of  people,  that  it  is  part  of  her  duty  in  con- 


8o  Psychology  of  Childhood 

nection  with  mothers'  and  fathers'  meetings  often  to  give 
them  facts  in  this  line  and  always  to  raise  their  ideals,  and 
make  them  realize  their  responsibility. 

Some  dangers  exist  in  connection  with  instruction  along 
this  line,  both  for  adults  and  children,  especially  to-day  when 
the  topic  is  being  discussed  so  freely.  One  has  been  indicated 
above,  in  that  the  wrong  sort  of  people  may  offer  to  teach 
it.  Another  is  that  the  very  strength  of  the  instinct  makes 
the  individual  oversusceptible  to  suggestion,  and  harm  may 
come  from  curiosity  leading  to  experimentation.  Another  is 
that  the  interest  excited  in  it  may  be  out  of  proportion,  and 
become  morbid.  Dwelling  on  this  topic  results  in  its  being 
given  undue  prominence,  and  the  individual  very  quickly 
sees  everything  in  relation  to  it.  This  is  unfortunate,  as 
exaggeration  always  is;  but  it  is  especially  so  in  this  field 
where  the  fund  of  emotion  is  so  tremendous,  and  the  dangers 
so  grave.  "  The  sphere  of  the  sexual  must  be  regarded  as 
a  fraction  merely  of  the  general  educational  field.  The  in- 
culcation of  true  ideals  of  morality,  and  of  a  sense  of  honor 
not  confined  to  externals  but  one  by  which  the  entire  being 
is  permeated,  —  these  will  be  the  safest  essential  of  a  good 
sexual  and  general  education." 

Exercises 

1.  Spend  two  half  hours,  at  different  times,  in  intensive  obser- 
vation of  one  child  four  to  six  years  of  age,  recording  all  that  he 
does  in  that  period.  Analyze  this  behavior  into  expressions  of  the 
various  instincts  treated  in  this  and  the  preceding  chapter.  Note 
particularly  the  situations  arousing  responses  of  fighting,  hoard- 
ing, teasing,  kindliness,  display. 

2.  Ask  20  adult  acquaintances  from  whom  they  acquired  their 
first  information,  and  at  what  age,  about  (a)  "where  the  baby 
came  from,"  {h)  reproductive  functions  in  their  own  body, 
(c)  the  relationship  of  the  sexes.  What  conclusions  do  you 
draw  as  to  sources  of  information  and  the  resulting  attitude  of 
the  child? 


The  Social  Instincts  8i 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  What  means  may  be  taken  to  develop  kindliness  and  sympa- 
thy in  children? 

2.  How  are  sympathy  and  the  f  eeling-of-self  related  genetically  ? 

3.  Show  how  desire  for  approval  may  be  utilized  to  motivate 
school  work  in  the  third  grade,  in  the  eighth  grade.  To  influence 
moral  conduct  in  the  kindergarten,  the  fifth  grade,  the  high  school. 

4.  In  what  way  should  the  gang  instinct  be  controlled  and  di- 
rected ?    What  is  the  danger  of  ignoring  it  ? 

5.  Suggest  methods  of  training  that  will  change  personal  rivalry 
into  group  rivalry. 

6.  Point  out  some  disadvantages  in  fashions,  customs,  prece- 
dents, moral  tone,  etc.,  that  come  from  imitation.  How  may 
the  force  be  made  an  advantage  in  these  matters  ? 

7.  What  is  the  difference  between  sex  instruction  and  sex 
education  in  {a)  aim,  {h)  method,  {c)  subject  matter? 

8.  Give  some  reasons  for  information,  or  training,  or  both, 
with  regard  to  sex  in  the  first  five  years  of  life,  the  next  nine  or 
ten  years,  the  later  teens.  How  can  social  and  religious  organiza- 
tions help  in  this  matter  ? 

9.  Discuss  the  conclusions  reached  as  a  result  of  Exercise  2 
above. 

References  for  Reading 

McDougall,  Social  Psychology,  pp.  168-173,  329-345,  ch.  XII. 
Moll,  The  Sexual  Life  of  the  Child,  pp.  33-113. 
Bigelow,  Sex  Education,  chs.  4,  6,  7,  8,  9. 
Thorndike,  Original  Nature  of  Man,  chs.  6,  7,  8. 
Puffer,  Boys'  Gangs,  Fed.  Sem.,  Vol.  12. 


CHAPTER   V 
TENDENCIES  ACCOMPANIED   BY  AFFECTIVE  STATES 

PHYSIOLOGICAL   BASIS   FOR    SATISFYINGNESS. — 

Man  is  continually  ''  wanting  "  something.  All  people  are 
Are  some  unremittingly  doing  the  same  thing,  striving  to 
situations  satisfy  their  wants  and  desires,  to  obtain  food, 
Tatisfying,  ^^^1^^^^,  reputation,  public  approval,  to  outdo 
and  annoy-  others,  to  show  kindUness,  to  collect,  to  gain  re- 
'"^''  suits  mental  and  manual,   to  rest,  —  or,  on  the 

other  hand,  to  avoid  deprivation  of  any  of  these  things,  to 
avoid  scorn  or  rebuff,  pain  or  failure.  We  spend  our  lives 
striving  after  certain  situations,  certain  responses,  and  dodg- 
ing other  situations,  other  responses.  So  far  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  original  nature,  there  has  been  nothing  which  could 
explain  this  attitude.  Why  should  man  spend  his  Ufe  for 
certain  things,  and  pay  no  attention  to  others,  or  avoid  them  ? 
^The  instincts  already  discussed  give  no  explanation ;  they  show 
man  to  be  equipped  by  nature  to  respond  in  certain  ways  to 
certain  situations  when  those  situations  are  present;  but  in 
themselves,  they  offer  no  reason  for  man's  taking  any  definite 
attitude  towards  them.  Were  the  account  so  far  given  of 
the  major  instincts  a  complete  one,  man  would  supposedly 
take  things  in  natural  sequence,  and  react  on  the  situation 
in  neutral  fashion  and  that  would  be  all.  This  is  not  quite 
true ;  for  in  the  description  of  the  Social  Instinct  it  has  been 
impossible  to  avoid  bringing  in  this  other  factor  of  attitude 
towards  the  situation.  There  must  be  something  in  the  origi- 
nal equipment  of  man  to  account  for  these  differences  in  atti- 

82 


Tendencies  Accompanied  by  Affective  States        83 

tude,  some  situations  must,  because  of  structure,  be  satisfying 
to  human  nature,  and  others  annoying. 

To  describe  what  is  meant  by  *'  satisfying  "  and  "  annoy- 
ing "  is  difi&cult.  Pleasure  and  pain  with  their  usual  connota- 
tions are  not  synonymous  terms.  Their  best  description 
seems  to  be  that  "  By  a  satisfying  state  of  affairs  is  meant 
roughly  one  which  the  animal  does  nothing  to  avoid,  often 
doing  such  things  as  attain  and  preserve  it.  By  an  annoying 
state  of  affairs  is  meant  roughly  one  which  the  animal  avoids 
or  changes."  ^  Original  nature,  then,  not  only  provides  all 
sorts  of  responses,  but  provides  also  that  the  animal  shall 
"  feel  "  in  definite  ways  towards  them,  shall  Hke  some,  and 
dislike  others.  From  these  feelings  of  "  satisfaction  "  and 
"  dissatisfaction  "  arise  all  later  desires,  wishes,  and  motives. 
They  are  the  elements  of  the  Ufe  of  affection,  the  roots  of 
feeling. 

Various  theories.  —  Just  when  a  situation  has  this  satis- 
fying quality,  just  when  a  situation  is  annoying,  has  occupied 
the  attention  of  psychologists  for  some  time,  and  as  yet  there 
is  no  answer  which  receives  general  acceptation.  The  most 
popular  theory,  probably,  is  that  espoused  by  Stout  and 
Dewey,  and  slightly  modified  by  Thorndike.  The  former 
maintain  in  somewhat  different  forms  that  the  accompani- 
ment of  any  smooth-running,  uninterrupted  activity  is  satis- 
fying, and  that  any  thwarting  or  interruption  of  an  activity 
is  annoying.  Thorndike  says,  "  when  any  original  behavior- 
series  is  started  and  operates  successfully,  its  activities  are 
satisfying,  and  the  situations  which  they  produce  are  satis- 
fying," and  vice  versa,  "  when  any  original  behavior-series  is 
started,  any  failure  of  it  to  operate  successfully  is  annoying."  ^ 
Besides  these  "  behavior  "  satisfiers  and  annoyers,  there  are 
some  constant  independent  annoyers  and  satisfiers  that  need 
to  be  considered.  Physical  pain,  bitter  tastes,  bad  smells, 
slimy  things,  depression,  solitude,  disapproval,  and  intense 

^  Original  Nature  of  Man,  pp.  123,  124. 


84  Psychology  of  Childhood 

sensory  stimuli  are  almost  always  annoying,  no  matter  what 
behavior-scries  is  involved.  **  Sweet,  meaty,  fruity  and  nutty 
tastes,  gUtter,  color  and  motion  in  objects  seen,  being  rocked, 
swung  arici  carried  (in  childhood),  rhythm  in  percepts  and 
movements,  elation,  the  presence  of  other  human  beings, 
their  manifestation  of  satisfaction  and  their  instinctive  ap- 
proving behavior  "  ^  are  independent  satisfiers. 

The  explanation  of  just  what  is  the  neurone  condition  which 
permits  of  this  feeling  of  satisfaction  or  annoyance  is  also  being 
questioned.  One  theory  is  that  since  instincts  are  tendencies 
to  act  involving  the  presence  of  a  chain  of  neurones  with 
synapses  in  functional  contact,  when  such  a  series-with-syn- 
apses-ready-to-act  is  actually  called  upon  to  conduct,  the  men- 
tal accompaniment  of  the  readiness  is  satisfaction ;  further, 
when  such  a  series-ready-to-act  is  prevented  from  conducting, 
the  mental  accompaniment  of  the  hindrance  or  checking  is 
annoyance ;  or,  when  a  series-unready-to-act  is  forced  to  con- 
duct, the  result  is  likewise  annoyance.  Compare  by  analogy 
the  lack  of  friction  when  a  line  of  people  is  prepared  to  pass 
water-buckets  at  a  fire  and  is  started  doing  so,  and  the  friction 
occurring  when  either,  being  prepared,  no  buckets  come  their 
way,  or  when  unprepared,  buckets  are  started  down  the  line. 
Now  some  neurone  connections  are  always  ready,  others  al- 
ways imready;  therefore  we  have  independent,  invariable, 
perennial  annoyers  and  satisfiers.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind, 
as  was  pointed  out  in  a  previous  chapter,  that  "  readiness  " 
depends  on  inner  growth  and  maturity,  as  well  as  upon  con- 
ditions of  nutrition,  disease,  fatigue,  and  familiarity. 

It  is  true,  then,  that  merely  as  a  matter  of  structure,  cer- 
tain situations  are  intrinsically  satisfying  to  the  human  race, 
and  others  annoying.  To  have  food,  to  hoard,  to  beat  some 
one  else  in  certain  activities,  to  fight,  to  show  kindliness,  to 
tease,  to  display  one's  powers,  to  win  approval,  to  be  physi- 
cally and  mentally  active,  —  these  responses  are  to  be  desired 

^  Original  Nature  of  Man,  p.  130. 


Tendencies  Accompanied  by  Affective  States         85 

and  sought,  they  are  in  themselves  satisfying  emotionally. 
The  reverse  of  them,  e.g.  having  to  sit  when  the  tendency  to 
physical  activity  is  ready,  being  told  not  to  ask  questions, 
being  given  no  opportunity  for  mental  activity,  these  situa- 
tions are  annoying.  To  fight  when  physically  tired,  or  to 
collect  when  that  occupation  has  continued  all  day,  may  be 
annoying  owing  to  the  depletion  of  the  nerve  centers.  Each 
of  the  instincts  as  it  works  itself  out  produces  in  the  animal 
a  feeling  of  satisfaction.  In  these  instinctive  tendencies, 
because  of  this  accompaniment  of  feeling,  is  found  the  origi- 
nal basis  for  all  interests,  motives,  desires,  and  wants,  —  those 
things  which  control  the  Hfe,  activities,  and  education  of  the 
human  race.  In  order  to  attain  and  preserve  satisfying  states 
and  to  avoid  annoying  states,  man  is  stimulated  to  learn. 
Herein  is  the  continual  incentive  for  the  learning  process. 
All  motives  and  interests  are  thus  seen  to  have  their  origin 
in  some  instinct  and  to  accompany  its  exercise,  except  in  a 
very  few  cases  where  certain  sensory  stimuH  are  in  themselves 
satisfying.  As  the  instincts  at  the  beginning  are  crude  and 
often  brutal,  so  are  the  interests.  The  strength  of  a  given 
interest  is  the  strength  of  the  instinct  the  operation  of  which 
produces  satisfaction.  As  the  instincts  vary  in  strength,  are 
delayed  or  transitory,  so  are  the  interests,  and  so  must  motives 
of  appeal  change.  The  satisfyingness  of  mere  physical  activity 
to  the  six-year-old  is  very  great,  and  the  annoyance  at  being  de- 
prived of  it  is  proportionately  great ;  the  strength  of  the  hunt- 
ing or  gang  spirit  in  boys  of  ten  or  eleven  makes  the  operation  of 
these  tendencies  satisfying ;  later,  when  these  tendencies  have 
lost  some  of  their  original  strength  or  have  become  merged  in 
others,  the  interest  in  the  corresponding  situation  is  much  less. 
UTILIZATION  OF  AFFECTIVE  STATES  IN  EDUCA- 
TION. —  All  this  is  of  great  importance  in  education,  for  it 
is  by  use  of  these  original  interests  that  the  learning  process 
is  started,  and  it  is  by  grafting  the  higher,  more  ideal  in- 
terests into  these  crude  ones  that   man's  wants  are  made 


86  Psychology  of  Childhood 

better.  Gradually  to  draw  a  child's  interest  from  personal  ap- 
proval to  an  interest  in  gaining  approval  for  his  group,  and 
How  are  later  to  the  approval  of  his  own  conscience ;  to  de- 
emotionsa  yelop  a  child's  moral  sense,  so  that  instead  of  being 
incentive  merely  interested  in  doing  what  brings  approval 
giving  ?  j^g  ^^{\\  \^q  satisfied  by  doing  what  is  right ;  so  to 
train  him  that  the  social  interests  outweigh  the  non-social,  — 
this  work  is  the  responsibility  of  the  educator,  for  thus  does 
man  pass  from  the  animal  level  into  his  human  inheritance. 
The  danger  in  educational  practice  here  is  the  same  as  that 
pointed  out  in  dealing  with  the  instincts ;  the  tendency  is  to 
ignore  or  suppress  the  fund  of  energy  provided  by  these  origi- 
nal interests,  and  instead  of  using  these  motives  to  bring  out 
responses,  to  substitute  for  them  artificial  or  adult  motives. 
To  ask  a  kindergarten  child  to  do  his  work  because  he  will 
need  it  some  day,  to  appeal  to  him  to  be  clean  and  neat  be- 
cause society  demands  it,  to  encourage  him  to  tell  the  truth 
because  it  is  right,  in  each  case  is  to  make  an  appeal  that 
means  nothing,  because  of  the  presence  of  other  instinctive 
interests,  and  because  of  the  lack  of  development  of  those  to 
which  the  appeal  is  made.  But  to  ask  him  to  do  his  work  so 
that  he  can  use  the  desired  toy,  to  appeal  to  him  to  be  clean 
because  then  one  can  love  him,  to  encourage  him  to  tell  the 
truth  because  it  will  pay  in  terms  of  pleasure  right  then,  — 
these  motives  are  those  that  he  is  working  with  every  day, 
that  have  a  basis  in  instincts  active  at  the  time.  No  matter 
what  the  words  used  in  appeal  are,  the  work  will  be  done,  the 
child  will  be  clean,  and  truth  will  be  told,  because,  and  only 
because  of  instinctive  interests;  others  cannot  be  operative 
because  of  the  child's  limitations  in  development,  in  expe- 
rience, in  knowledge.  Why  deceive  both  ourselves  and  the 
child  by  using  more  ideal  motives  ?  These  are  in  place  later, 
and  if  kept  till  the  time  when  the  interest  is  alive  in  the  child 
they  will  have  force  to  bring  results.  Used  too  early,  they  are 
likely  to  remain  empty  of  true  content.    The  individual  is 


Tendencies  Accompanied  by  Afective  States        87 

self -deceived,  acting  in  response  to  motives  worded  in  ideal 
terms,  whereas  the  true  motive  is  a  selfish  one.  The  danger 
in  such  appeals  is  not  in  calling  on  low  and  crude  ones,  but 
in  constantly  working  on  the  same  level  and  so  failing  to  pro- 
vide for  the  demands  of  progress  and  development.  Meet 
the  child  fearlessly  on  the  level  where  he  is  no  matter  where 
that  may  be,  and  then  raise  him  to  higher  and  higher  levels 
by  substitution  and  pleasurable  results. 

ESTHETIC  EMOTIONS.  —  The  original  tendencies 
which  are  built  up  into  the  aesthetic  emotions  are  found  in 
some  situations  in  themselves  satisfying.     These   ,     ^  ,^ 

,     ,  ,         1  .   P    .  r       1.  Inwhatdo 

roots   are  probably   the   satisfymgness   of  glitter  aesthetic 
and  color,  or  rhythm  in  percepts  and  movements,  ^^o^^o^s 

^  ,  1     ,        .       r  ,  .  originate? 

From  these  crude  begmnmgs  comes  the  enjoyment 
of  nature,  of  art,  of  poetry,  of  dancing,  and  of  music.  The 
fact  that  the  mere  presence  of  certain  sensory  stimuli  causes 
in  the  organism  feeling-responses  of  satisfaction  makes  pos- 
sible, later,  the  yielding  of  one's  self  to  the  *'  perfect  moment," 
when  the  whole  being  is  absorbed  by,  and  identified  with, 
beauty.  The  very  nature  and  meagerness  of  the  original 
equipment  leave  emotions  in  the  field  of  the  aesthetic  ex* 
tremely  plastic.  The  kind  of  situation  embodying  the  qual- 
ities that  call  out  the  satisfaction  which  is  the  aesthetic 
emotion  will  depend  chiefly  upon  the  individual's  training 
and  environment. 

»  Just  what  any  individual  considers  beauty  or  music  or  art 
is  a  matter  of  education ;  and  there  seems  to  be  nothing  else 
save  the  qualities  mentioned  necessary  for  aesthetic  enjoy- 
ment, save  possibly  those  which  insure  unity  and  ease  of  at- 
tention. The  satisfaction  aroused  in  a  little  child  by  a  chromo 
or  by  "  ragtime  "  music  is  just  as  truly  an  aesthetic  emotion 
as  that  aroused  in  an  educated  adult  by  a  Murillo  Madonna, 
or  a  Beethoven  symphony.  From  the  enjoyment  of  the  crude 
and  elemental,  the  child  must  be  raised  to  enjoyment  of  the 
artistic   and   complex.     Here,    as   elsewhere,    the   beginning 


88  Psychology  of  Childhood 

must  be  made  on  the  level  where  original  equipment  places 
the  child,  not  at  some  level  far  beyond ;  for  the  result  of  the 
latter  method  is  to  kill  true  aesthetic  enjoyment.  Strong, 
though  good,  color  should  be  characteristic  of  the  pictures 
given  to  children  and  those  that  hang  on  the  walls  of  primary 
schoolrooms.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  pictures  are 
used  for  other  purposes  than  that  of  aesthetic  enjoyment,  and 
therefore  this  need  not  hold  true  of  those  used  for  the  sake  of 
the  story  or  the  association.  Gradually,  from  the  apprecia- 
tion of  these  pictures,  the  children  may  be  brought  to  enjoy 
delicate  harmonies  of  color,  black  and  white,  the  qualities  of 
fine  perspective.  The  music,  the  songs,  and  the  poetry  should 
have  decided,  simple  rhythm  at  first,  other  quaHties  are  of 
secondary  importance;  later,  emphasis  may  be  placed  on 
harmony,  on  form  and  assonance.  The  development  must  be 
gradual,  however,  if  true  aesthetic  appreciation  of  what  is 
considered  the  best  is  to  be  cultivated. 

Joy  in  creation  not  identical  with  aesthetic  pleasure.  —  Be 
it  remembered  that  the  satisfaction  or  feeling  aroused  by  crea- 
tion or  construction  is  not  at  all  the  same  as  the  aesthetic  emo- 
tion. The  former  is  satisfaction  with  activity,  love  of  being 
a  cause,  it  is  dynamic,  and  comes  from  the  production  of  re- 
sults; the  latter  is  contemplative,  and  more  or  less  passive. 
That  the  two  emotions  are  related,  and  that  one  may  be  the 
condition  of  the  arousal  of  the  other,  there  can  be  no  question. 
The  production  by  an  individual  of  a  beautiful  object  is  often 
followed  by  a  contemplation  of  the  beauty  which  is  aesthetic ; 
and  the  satisfaction  in  terms  of  aesthetic  appreciation  of 
something  beautiful  may  stimulate  the  constructive  interest. 
However,  the  two  attitudes  are  absolutely  different,  and  the 
training  and  development  of  one  need  not  involve  the  train- 
ing or  development  of  the  other.  One  may  readily  enjoy 
sensory  appeals  and  be  trained  to  appreciation  of  the  beautiful 
in  sound,  color,  line,  or  proportion  without  developing  any 
ability  to  create  in  these  lineB,  perhaps  with  only  partial  sue- 


Tendencies  Accompanied  by  Affective  States         89 

cess  in  imitating  others'  work  without  offending  good  taste. 
Most  people  can  have  this  passive  enjoyment  educated,  fewer 
can  reproduce  acceptably  without  rigid  training  in  technique, 
and  fewest  of  all  among  us  so  create  that  the  rest  can  contem- 
plate our  productions  with  real  aesthetic  pleasure. 

Training  aesthetic  pleasure.  —  The  methods  of  training 
appreciation  are  not  well  developed;  little  is  done  in  the 
schools  to  direct  the  aesthetic  emotion  in  the  face  of  the  fact 
that  few,  very  few,  of  the  thousands  of  children  who  leave 
every  year  can  be  producers  to  any  extent,  whereas  all  can 
enjoy,  if  the  power  has  been  developed.  The  great  works  of 
art,  literature,  music,  and  nature  are  ever  present,  offering 
the  greatest  of  all  opportunities  for  aesthetic  appreciation. 
However,  certain  developments  in  the  schools  are  evidence  of 
the  recognition  of  the  power  and  the  value  of  the  aesthetic 
emotions.  The  separation  of  literature  from  the  structural 
study  of  EngHsh  in  the  high  school ;  the  introduction  of  the 
victrola,  or  other  planning  for  the  children  to  hear  good  instru- 
mental and  vocal  music  and  compositions ;  excursions  to  art 
museums,  not  for  criticism,  but  enjoyment;  the  excursions 
into  the  woods  or  down  to  the  river,  not  for  nature  study,  but 
to  develop  emotional  response ;  allowing  children  to  read  for 
the  sheer  pleasure  of  it  rather  than  for  the  purpose  of  repro- 
ducing the  story,  telling  the  plot,  or  discussing  the  style; 
placing  copies  of  famous  statues  and  pictures  in  our  school 
corridors  and  rooms ;  —  all  these  are  endeavors  to  develop 
that  form  of  satisfaction  which  we  call  aesthetic,  whose  roots 
are  in  the  original  nature  of  man. 

PRIMITIVE  EMOTIONS.  —  Closely  allied  to  the  other 
type  of  satisfiers,  that  is,  the  action  of  any  behavior-series 
which  is  ready,  are  the  primitive  emotions.     These  ^^^ 
emotions  are  also  part  of  the  life  of  feeling,  part  of  emotions 
the  original  equipment  of  man.     There  is  a  dif-  ^^^^^^^^"^^ 
ference  of  opinion  as  to  their  relation  to  the  instincts.    Pills- 
bury  accepts  the  statement  that  "  emotion    is  the  conscious 


go  Psychology  of  Childhood 

side  of  instinct."  McDougall  accepts  the  same  point  of  view 
so  far  as  his  seven  primary  instincts  are  concerned.  He  says, 
"  Each  of  the  principal  instincts  conditions,  then,  some  one 
kind  of  emotional  excitement  whose  quality  is  specific  or 
peculiar  to  it."  ^  Thus  each  of  the  primary  instincts  on  its 
affective  side  is  linked  to  one  definite  emotion,  e.g.  the  instinct 
of  flight  to  the  emotion  of  fear,  the  instinct  of  pugnacity  to 
the  emotion  of  anger,  the  parental  instinct  to  the  tender  emo- 
tion. That  instinct  and  the  coarser  emotions  are  closely 
connected,  both  having  their  roots  in  original  nature,  there 
can  be  no  doubt ;  but  that  there  is  a  one-to-one  correspondence 
between  instinct  and  emotion  seems  very  unlikely.  Accord- 
ing to  this  theory,  fighting  should  always  be  accompanied  by 
anger,  and  this  is  surely  not  true.  A  small  boy  may  be  fight- 
ing another,  and  during  the  process,  experience  several  emo- 
tions, anger,  fear,  exhilaration,  joy  of  victory,  and  self-con- 
scious display.  It  is  also  true  that  the  mental  state  called 
anger  has  responses  of  its  own,  which  are  not  the  fighting 
responses.  Just  what  the  situations  are  which  originally 
call  out  the  various  emotions  in  man  is  not  known.  In  his 
study  of  anger,  Hall  finds  as  instinctive  causes  of  that  emotion 
*'  some  thirty  physical  features,  a  score  of  peculiar  acts,  an 
equal  number  of  features  of  dress,  a  multitude  of  habits,  limi- 
tation of  the  subject's  freedom,  the  thwarting  of  his  expecta- 
tion or  purpose,  contradiction,  invasion  or  repression  of  his 
self,  injuries  to  pride,  injustice,  causes  of  jealousy,  and  many 
special  circumstances."^  In  Gesell's  study  of  jealousy^  almost 
as  many  situations  are  given  as  the  original  causes  of  that 
emotion.  Other  students  beUeve  it  to  be  a  much  simpler 
state  of  affairs.  In  the  various  theories  and  studies  of  laugh- 
ter the  same  complexity  and  lack  of  agreement  are  found. 
When  the  opposite  end  of  the  behavior-series  is  studied,  and 

^  McDougall,  Social  Psychology,  p.  47. 

*  A.  J.  P.,  Vol.  10,  quoted  by  Thoradike,  op.  cit.,  p.  76. 

» A.  J.  P.,  Vol,  17,  pp.  437-496. 


Tendencies  Accompanied  by  Affective  States        91 

the  question  is  asked,  "  Just  what  are  the  responses  that  are 
originally  connected  with  an  anger-provoking  or  a  laughter- 
provoking  situation?  "  the  answer  is  just  as  indefinite.  The 
same  thing  is  true  when  one  inquires  into  the  kind  of  mental 
state  that  is  aroused.  The  very  fact  that  the  emotions  in 
themselves  are  ''  subjective  "  means  that  they  elude  analysis 
and  description.  Every  one  knows  what  an  emotion  is,  since 
because  of  general  nature  every  one  experiences  them ;  but 
the  cause,  the  bodily  response,  and  even  the  states  themselves 
await  furJther  study  before  any  definite  knowledge  concerning 
them  can  be  arrived  at. 

General  methods  of  control.  —  We  do  know  that  the  child 
by  original  nature  is  equipped  in  such  a  way  that  unlearned 
responses  to  situations  occur,  the  accompaniments  j^^^  ^^^ 
of  which  are  the  emotions.  All  human  beings  feel  emotion  be 
ahger,  fear,  jealousy,  sympathy,  joy,  disgust,  and 
so  on,  as  a  matter  of  inherited  connections.  The  younger  the 
individual,  the  less  experience  has  affected  the  individual, 
the  more  violent  and  unchecked  will  the  emotion  be.  Chil- 
dren's emotions  are  intense,  but  they  also  tend  to  be  more 
short-lived  than  the  adult's.  They  need  to  be  controlled 
but  not  eliminated ;  they  are  a  precious  asset  for  motivation, 
for  calling  otit  energy,  and  as  such  should  be  preserved  and 
cultivated.  The  need  is  to  raise  them  to  intellectual  and 
spiritual  levels  from  the  physical  and  material  levels  at  which 
they  first  appear.  The  desired  ends  are  to  develop,  for  in- 
stance, jealousy,  so  that  the  child  becomes  jealous  for  others 
LIS  well  as  for  himself ;  joy,  so  that  he  is  as  happy  over  the 
successes  of  others  as  over  his  own ;  sympathy  and  kindliness, 
so  that  they  are  aroused  by  spiritual  and  intellectual  dis- 
asters as  well  as  by  physical,  and  by  hurt  to  strangers  as  well 
as  to  friends. 

The  laws  of  learning  —  exercise  and  effect  —  are  instru- 
mental in  bringing  about  these  changes.  Control  of  emotion 
is  brought  about  by  the  same  means ;  but  the  value  of  analysis 


92  Psychology  of  Childhood 

or  the  interposition  of  intellectual  states  in  some  way,  and  of 
the  control  of  the  expressive  movements  which  accompany 
the  emotion  should  be  kept  in  mind.  Thus  we  may,  by  the 
law  of  effect,  learn  not  to  give  way  to  anger  by  finding  that 
nothing  is  gained  thereby,  and  a  good  deal  lost.  This  is  a 
slow  process  of  gaining  control,  and  it  may  be  a  very  long 
time  before  a  child  discovers  for  himself,  however  careful 
the  parents  are  that  that  is  really  true,  that  he  does  gain 
nothing  by  his  fit  of  temper.  Anger  may  be  controlled  by  re- 
directing the  fermenting  spirits  so  that  the  energy  is  worked 
off  in  some  rather  violent  exercise.  Punching  a  bag,  pitching  ^ 
a  ball,  chopping  wood,  "  walking  it  off  "  are  famiHar  safety 
valves.  Or  anger  may  be  held  in  check  by  the  observation 
of  others  who  are  angry,  comparing  signs  of  disturbance  in 
them  and  in  one's  self;  the  contemplative  attitude  replaces 
the  other,  even  a  feeling  of  amusement  may  ensue.  ,. Again, 
analysis  of  the  causes  for  anger  with  thoughtful  attempt  to 
remedy  the  conditions  that  have  aroused  it  will  surely  disperse 
it.  l^A  quick  diversion  by  a  laughter-provoking  joke  will  re- 
lieve the  condition  as  well  as  the  proverbial  "  soft  answer." 
Among  the  physical  expressions,  those  most  readily  amenable 
to  control  are  the  quickened  breath  which  may  be  regulated 
and  the  tense  muscles  which  may  be  forcibly  held  relaxed 
(just  as  in  conquering  nervousness  or  an  impulse  to  give  way 
to  crying  it  is  important  to  control  the  breath  and  the  pitch 
of  the  voice,  and  to  stiffen  the  muscles).  With  young  children, 
^ese  various  distractions  must  be  supplied  from  the  outside. 
The  law  of  effect  was  used  by  the  father  of  a  four-year-old 
who  used  to  throw  himself  about  and  kick  with  rage,  when  he 
lifted  the  child  to  a  rather  narrow  chimney  piece.  In  antici- 
pation of  a  fall  the  child  stopped  his  contortions,  although 
he  had  previously  declared  he  couldn't.  After  a  few  such 
treatments  the  boy  learned  to  inhibit  those  manifestations. 
To  relieve  the  blood  pressure  and  muscle  tension  a  physician 
may  indorse  a  counter  irritant  in  the  form  of  flicking  the  calves. 


Tendencies  Accompanied  by  Afective  States        93 

Being  made  to  run  up  and  down,  being  sent  to  bathe  face  and 
hands  in  cold  water,  even  being  plunged  into  cool  water,  drink- 
ing cold  water  will  help  some  children  of  from  three  to  six 
years  of  age.  To  be  told  a  story,  to  hear  singing,  laughing, 
and  other  forms  of  mental  distraction  will  help  others.  With 
older  children  their  conscious  cooperation  in  control  must  be 
sought,  and  the  responsibihty  gradually  shifted  to  them 
entirely. 

Study  of  fear.  Stimuli  and  responses.  —  Fear  is  one  of 
the  emotions  which  has  been  most  carefully  studied,  and  al- 
though there  is  still  disagreement  as  to  the  original  what  situa- 
causes  and  responses,  and  the  characteristics  of  the  ''^"^  °^^ 
mental  state  called  fear,  still  knowledge  here  is  constitute 
more  definite  than  in  regard  to  any  other  emotion.  ^^°^^ 
Hall's  article  on  Fear,  in  the  Pedagogical  Seminary  for  1897, 
is  the  result  of  one  of  the  first  serious  attempts  to  investigate 
mental  states  by  means  of  the  questionnaire,  and  therefore 
is  of  historical  as  well  as  intrinsic  value.  Thorndike,  after 
carefully  sifting  the  opinions  of  various  psychologists,  thinks 
that  fear  is  aroused  by  stimuli  such  as  thunderstorms,  reptiles, 
large  animals  approaching,  certain  vermin,  darkness,  strange 
persons  of  unfriendly  mien,  solitude,  and  probably  loud  or 
sudden  noises  with  certain  peculiar  qualities.  Of  course, 
when  two  or  more  of  these  situations  work  together,  e.g. 
darkness  and  solitude,  the  fear  is  intensified;  when  some 
original  satislier  is  operating  simultaneously  with  any  one  of 
them,  the  fear  will  be  diminished,  e.g.  candy  and  solitude, 
or  the  presence  of  other  human  beings  when  a  strange  person 
of  unfriendly  mien  approaches.  Of  the  responses  to  these 
situations,  thirty-one  of  the  more  easily  observable  are  listed 
by  Thorndike.^  Many  of  these  are  antagonistic,  such  as 
running  away  or  remaining  stock-still,  therefore  the  responses 
to  fear-inspiring  situations  differ  tremendously.  It  is  prob- 
able, however,  that  to  the  same  situation  the  same  individual 

1  Original  Nature  of  Man,  p.  59. 


94  Psychology  of  Childhood 

will  respond  in  the  same  way,  but  as  the  situation  and  the 
mental  states  are  so  different,  of  course  the  responses  must 
vary ;  witness  the  fear  aroused  by  a  thunderstorm  and  that 
aroused  by  a  large  animal  approaching. 

Delayed  and  transitory  forms.  —  Fear,  as  an^oxiginal  tend- 
ency, is  subject  to  the  laws  of  transitoriness  and  delay. 
Some  psychologists  believe  that  the  different  types  of  fear 
mature  at  a  definite  time  in  the  child's  development,  and 
then  pass.  For  instance,  Kirkpatrick  beHeves  that  fear  of 
the  dark  is  most  intense  at  three  or  four  years  of  age,  and 
gradually  becomes  less,  whereas  James  illustrates  the  sudden 
fear  of  reptiles  which  appeared  in  a  boy  of  about  two.  Be- 
cause of  the  possibiUty  of  delay  in  the  appearance  of  certain 
forms  of  fear,  the  method  of  forming  a  contrary  habit  before 
the  instinct  appears  can  be  used  very  successfully.  If  a  child 
from  early  infancy  is  accustomed  to  play  with  animals,  if  he 
is  always  put  to  bed  in  the  dark  alone,  if  he  is  interested  in 
the  thunderstorms,  then  particular  forms  of  the  fear  instinct 
will  be  very  much  modified  in  their  intensity,  and  may  not 
appear  at  all.  ^ 

Control  of  fear.  —  When  the  fear  does  show  itself,  there  are 
three  important  methods  of  dealing  with  it,  —  the  force  of 
example  is  tremendous  in  inhibiting  fear  tendencies ;  "second, 
the  possibility  of  associating  with  the  fear-inspiring  situation 
some  original  satisfiers  offers  a  means  of  lessening  the  fear  re- 
sponses ;  third,  appealing  to  the  child's  reason  and  knowledge 
may  be  used  as  an  additional  method  of  depriving  the  situa- 
tion of  its  fear-inspiring  elements.  The  value  of  the  method 
will  depend  largely  on  the  age  and  experience  of  the  child; 
the  first  is  effective  always,  but  the  last  only  with  children  to 
whom  facts,  as  such,  have  some  significance. 

Fear  in  its  crude  form  should  certainly  be  a  waning  emotion, 
but  fear  in  its  modified  form  is  necessary  for  the  maintenance 
of  society.  Fear  early  becomes  associated  with  physical 
pain,  and  becomes  one  of  the  most  common  weapons  wielded 


Tendencies  Accompanied  by  Affective  States         95 

by  the  adult  in  the  control  of  the  child.  That  fear  of  punish- 
ment, physical  pain,  has  its  place  in  the  rearing  of  the  child 
seems  undeniable,  for  in  the  early  days  it  is  the  only  appeal 
that  he  can  understand.  It  is  equally  true,  however,  that  as 
the  other  instincts  and  capacities  develop,  this  means  of  con- 
trol should  be  gradually  changed.  Fear  of  disapproval,  of  the 
denial  of  companions,  of  deprivation  of  means  of  satisfying 
physical  or  mental  activity,  of  being  surpassed,  of  being  the 
object  of  scorn  of  the  group,  each  of  these  fears  has  its  place 
until  finally  fear  of  losing  one's  friends,  of  falHng  short  of  one's 
ideals,  of  violating  one's  conscience,  become  some  of  the  most 
powerful  motives  in  the  control  of  conduct. 

With  respect  to  the  other  primitive  emotions,  little  can  be 
said.  The  same  general  methods  of  control  are  effective  as 
in  those  discussed.  Some  of  them  have  already  been  spoken 
of  in  cQfinection  with  the  instincts  with  which  they  are  often 
associated.  Others  will  be  considered  in  the  next  section. 
This  confusion,  lack  of  definiteness  and  difference  of  opinion, 
is  a  necessary  concomitant  of  the  present  lack  of  knowledge 
and  prevalence  of  theory  and  anecdote  in  the  field  of  the  feel- 
ings and  the  emotions.  Because  the  psychology  of  the  emo- 
tions is  so  little  known,  the  lack  of  training,  of  development, 
and  of  refinement  shows  in  this  field  —  both  in  the  aesthetic, 
and  in  the  crude  emotions  —  much  more  than  in  the  field  of 
the  intellect.  Lack  of  economy  and  lack  of  insight  charac- 
terize our  dealings  with  feelings,  whether  the  original  satis- 
fiers  and  annoy ers,  or  the  more  complex  and  violent  emotions. 
Knowledge,  much  more  definite  and  detailed,  is  needed  before 
much  progress  can  be  made  in  this  field. 

Exercises 

1.  Write  out  a  list  of  motives  that  may  be  used  as  incentives 
or  deterrents  with  children  under  eight ;  with  twelve-year-oMs. 

2.  Illustrate  each  of  the  three  methods  mentioned  of  dealing 
with  the  fear  instinct. 


96  Psychology  of  Childhood 

3.  As  in  the  discussion  of  treating  anger,  show  how  (i)  the 
laws  of  learning,  (2)  the  interposition  of  mental  states,  (3)  the 
control  of  expressive  movements  may  train  the  emotion  of  active 
kindliness,  or  of  an  appreciation  of  humor. 

4.  Observe  a  child  experiencing  an  intense  emotion.  Notice 
the  duration  of  the  emotion  and  the  type  that  succeeds.  How 
do  these  compare  with  sunilar  phenomena  in  an  adult  ? 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1 .  How  may  training  for  technique  in  an  art  assist  appreciation  ? 
How  may  it  choke  it? 

2.  By  reminiscence,  instance  causes  of  childhood  unhappiness. 
What  suggestions  do  they  offer  as  to  dealing  with  children  ? 

References  for  Reading 

Strayer  and  Norsworthy,  How  to  Teach,  ch.  8.  ♦ 

Thomdike,  Original  Nature  of  Man,  pp.  57-80. 
MacCunn,  The  Making  of  Character,  pp.  212-222. 
Oppenheim,  Mental  Growth  and  Control,  ch.  10. 


CHAPTER   VI 

ATTENTION 

ORIGINAL  ROOTS  OF  ATTENTION.  —  The  roots  of 
the  conduct  and  feelings  of  man  have  been  found  in  his  original 
equipment  in  terms  of  neurone  connections  and   , 

.  .  A  '  1    '       1    r    '         •  •  Is  man 

neurone  behavior-senes  which  m  dennite  situations  attentive  by 
are  ready  to  act.     To  make  possible  man's  intel-  original 

,     ,  ,, .         ,  -  ,  .     1  .   ,  nature  ? 

lectual  abihty  the  same  facts  must  be  true  m  higher 
centers.     Not  only  are  there  neurone  connections  in  terms  of 
the  reflex  arcs  that  make  possible  the  reaching,  hoarding,  fight- 
ing, approving  behavior  of  man,  but  there  are  also  synapses 
between  the  sensory  neurones  and  ganglia  in  the  nerve  centers 
whose  action  gives  rise  to  sensations  of  all  kinds.     Still  further, 
man  by  original  nature  has  secondary  connections  between 
sensory  and  associative  neurones,  and  between  associative  and  ^  ^ 
associative  neurones,  which  make  possible  all  the  further  men- 
tal states  of  perception,  imagination,  memory,  and  judgment. 
These  connections  are  ready  to  act  just  as  truly  as  those 
leading  to  the  instinctive  responses.     These  secondary  con-      ^ 
nections  result  in  the  so-called  tendency  to  "  general  men- 
tal activity,"  or  the  power  of  "  mental  control." 

Because  these  tendencies  are  the  result  of  neurone  ronnec- 
tions  ready  to  act,  their  activities  not  only  bring  about  results 
that  are  satisfying,  but  the  activity  itself  is  one  of  the  original 
satisfiers.  To  experience  sensations  and  have  things  happen 
in  consciousness  is,  in  and  of  itself,  satisfying  to  man ;  to  see 
and  hear  and  feel  things  happening  in  the  physical  world 
brings  satisfaction,  but  to  be  the  cause  of  such  happenings  is 
still  keener  joy.    This  "  power  of  control,"  of  ^'  being  a  cause," 

H  97 


98  Psychology  of  Childhood 

carries  over  into  the  purely  mental  field  because  of  the  ex- 
tended series  of  secondary  connections  which  exist.  "'  Not 
only  making  movements  and  thereby  getting  sensations,  but 
also  making  an  ideal  plan  and  thereby  getting  a  conclusion, 
making  an  imaginary  person  and  thereby  getting  further  im- 
aginations of  how  he  would  act,  and  countless  other  '  gettings 
from  doings,'  are  satisfying."  ^  Experience  and  training  de- 
termine just  what  the  sequence  will  be,  whether  it  will  be  the 
vain  imaginings  of  the  idler,  or  plans  that  will  result  in  the 
building  of  the  Panama  Canal ;  whether  frivolous  gossip  con- 
cerning clothes  and  one's  next-door  neighbor  or  ideals  and 
judgments  which  make  for  power  and  efficiency.  Nature  pro- 
vides only  that  the  action  of  secondary  connections  is  gratifying 
to  man ;  man  by  his  education  and  environment  determines 
which  of  those  connections  shall  be  established  as  habits. 

Significance  of  attentiveness.  —  To  this  original  equipment 
of  secondary  connections  is  due  man's  intellectual  and  moral 
superiority.  It  is  because  consciousness,  or  mental  life  is  felt 
as  worth  while  for  its  own  sake  that  man  has  gone  so  far  in 
the  field  of  intellectual  attainment.  So  far  as  present  opinion 
goes,  it  is  in  the  possession  of  this  instinct  of  general  mental 
activity  that  man  so  far  surpasses  the  lower  animals.  Con- 
sciousness in  them  merely  plays  the  part  of  adapting  physical 
responses  to  physical  situations,  and  is  worth  while,  satisfy- 
ing to  them  as  soon  as  it  performs  that  function ;  whereas  in 
man  it  not  only  connects  mental  states  which  serve  as  situa- 
tions with  mental  states  which  are  responses,  but  that  process 
in  and  of  itself,  apart  from  the  results,  is  satisfying.  Just 
what  the  secondary  neurone  connections  are  which  accompany 
the  various  types  of  mental  states  is  not  definitely  known; 
but  the  mental  states  themselves  and  the  changes  which  take 
place  in  them  can  be  studied. 

Arousal  of  instinctive  attention.  — ^.Attention  is  the  funda- 
mental tendency  which  leads  to  other  mental  states.  As  a 
*  Thorndike,  Original  Nature  of  Man,  p.  142. 


Attention  99 

matter  of  original  nature,  man  has  the  tendency  to  prolong 
certain  situations,  and  of  disposing  himself  to  be  more  effec- , 
tively  impressed  by  them.  The  situations  to  which  whatquaii- 
he  thus  responds  are  those  originally  interesting,  and  ''^^ '" 
his  attitude  toward  them  is  that  of  attention.  The  arouse 
situations  to  which,  because  of  original  equipment,  ^fi^ntion? 
he  gives  this  interest  and  attention  seem  to  be  intense 
stimuli,  such  as  strong  blasts  of  wind,  sharp  pains,  sudden 
stimuli  which  make  sharp  changes,  such  as  loud  noises  coming 
in  the  midst  of  quiet,  strange  or  unusual  stimuU,  rhythmic  or 
cadenced  rather  than  monotonous  stimuH,  moving  objects, 
recurrent  even  if  faint  sense  perceptions,  stimuli  that  act  as 
signals  of  organic  needs  and  '^  situations  to  which  he  has 
further  tendencies  to  respond  as  by  flight,  repulsion,  play  and 
the  like."  The  tendencies  of  visual  exploration,  vocalization, 
and  manipulation  alone  offer  an  almost  infinite  variety  of 
situations.  The  bonds  of  attention,  though  many,  are  def- 
inite, and  along  the  lines  of  the  instincts  and  capacities. 
Omnivorous,  general  attention  is  not  a  gift  of  nature.  The 
situations  which  later  attract  and  hold  the  attention  differ 
with  the  age  and  sex  of  the  child,  and  it  is  these  changes  and 
differences  that  it  is  important  for  the  educator  to  under- 
stand.^ 

DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN  ADULTS'  AND  CHILDREN'S 
ATTENTION.     In  span  or  range.  —  The  attention  of  a  little 
child  of  school  age,  dependent  as  it  is  on  this  pri-  compare 
mary  form  of  attention,  has  certain  characteristics,  adults  with 

^   .rr        0  ••         p  t  T  r  ^  '  •      Children  ITl 

Griinng  ^  mamtams,  from  the  results  of  his  experi-  range  of 
ments,  that  the  span  of  attention  is  "  a  function  <itt^rition. 
of  individual  growth,  reaching  its  maximum  only  when  the 
observer  is  fully  developed."     This  would  mean  that  the  at- 

^  As  a  knowledge  of  adult  psychology  is  presupposed,  the  point  of  view  of 
this  section  will  be  to  emphasize  the  differences  which  exist  between  children 
and  adults  in  the  various  mental  states  discussed. 

^  Griffing,  On  the  development  of  visual  perception  and  attention,  Am. 
Jour.  Psych.,  Vol.  7. 


loo  Psychology  of  Childhood 

tention-span  of  a  little  child  is  smaller  than  that  of  an  adult 
and  that  it  increases  with  age.  Although  Whipple  questions 
Griffing's  method,  there  seems  every  reason  to  believe  that 
his  general  conclusion  is  true :  that  whereas  in  one  flash  of 
visual  attention  the  adult  can  apprehend  four  to  five  unre- 
lated objects,  the  child  cannot  apprehend  so  many.  Of 
course,  this  power  comes  both  as  a  matter  of  growth  and 
training,  though  the  small  effect  of  practice  in  the  function 
seems  to  point  to  inner  growth  as  the  chief  factor  in  bringing 
about  the  change.  This  narrowness  of  the  attention-span  may 
account  for  some  of  the  difficulty  that  young  children  have 
in  reading  long  words. 

Difference  in  complexity  of  object. —  The  difference  in 
range  of  attention  between  children  and  adults  is  more  a  mat- 
ter first  of  difference  in  the  complexity  of  the  object  of  thought, 
and  second  in  the  lack  of  mechanical  habits.  The  psycholog- 
ical law  is  that  only  one  object  of  thought,  one  "  conceptual 
system  "  can  be  in  the  focus  of  attention  at  any  one  instant 
of  time.  This  is  true  for  all  ages,  but  for  the  adult  the  ''  ob- 
ject "  may  be  a  whole  system ;  and  the  many  relationships 
involved,  the  conditions  which  must  obtain,  the  most  impor- 
tant associations,  —  all  these  may  be  in  the  margin  and  color 
the  focal  point,  whereas  with  a  child,  few  of  such  connections 
can  be  held.  With  him,  it  is  one  fact,  one  object,  one  con- 
dition, rather  bare  and  unadorned.  Any  one  accustomed  to 
deal  with  children  knows  how  difficult  it  is  for  them  to  carry 
in  mind  more  than  one  point  at  a  time.  Ask  them  in  nature 
study  to  notice  color  and  form,  and  attention  is  given  to  either 
one  or  the  other,  not  to  both ;  in  geography,  if  they  are  asked 
to  determine  the  occupations  of  people  in  a  certain  section 
by  a  consideration  of  the  climatic  conditions,  and  of  the  land 
forms,  they  are  very  likely  to  work  through  with  just  one  con- 
dition in  mind,  unable  to  grasp  the  complex  situation.  Be- 
cause of  this  inability  to  attend  to  a  complex  thought  as  a  whole, 
the  younger  the  child  the  stronger  binds  the  maxim,  —  "  Teach 


Attention  toi 

one  thing  at  a  time."  The  first  requisite  in  developing  power 
in  attending  to  a  system  of  thought  as  a  whole  is  that  the 
teacher  shall  know,  first,  the  child's  limitations,  and  second, 
just  how  complex  is  the  situation.  If  she  knows  that  the  thing 
to  which  she  is  calling  attention  involves  just  so  many  relation- 
ships, she  will  not  be  nearly  so  Ukely  to  ask  the  impossible  of 
the  child,  and  in  consequence  to  bring  about  confusion  and 
disorder.  The  process  must  be  a  very  gradual  one ;  at  first, 
each  thing  is  learned  almost  alone  and  thoroughly  before  it 
is  brought  into  a  complex  situation  as  an  element ;  later,  as 
power  increases,  the  number  of  elements  or  relationships  may 
be  increased. 

Difference  in  mechanical  habits  present.  —  The  second  rea- 
son for  narrowness  of  range  in  the  child  is  a  lack  of  mechan- 
ical habits.  An  adult  can  use  eyes,  hands,  and  feet  in  running 
his  machine,  smoke,  listen  to  a  conversation  and  criticize  it 
mentally  all  at  the  same  time.  Another  can  read  the  music 
and  words  of  a  song,  get  the  meaning,  use  voice  with  artistic 
efifect,  use  hands  and  feet  in  the  piano  accompaniment  and  still 
attend  to  the  way  the  audience  is  Hstening.  The  adult  does 
many  things  at  the  same  time,  and  therefore  apparently  has 
a  wider  range  of  attention  because  several  of  them  are  mechan- 
ical habits,  such  as  need  no  special  attention  except  to  start 
them  or  to  overcome  an  obstacle  of  some  kind.  But  with  the 
little  child  the  things  we  adults  do  so  easily  are  matters  of 
serious  attention  and  effort,  and  very  seldom  can  more  than 
one  thing  be  done  at  a  time.  If  in  reading  he  pays  attention 
to  the  pronunciation  of  the  words,  or  the  holding  of  his  book, 
or  the  inflection  and  accent,  he  loses  the  meaning ;  and  if  the 
meaning  is  in  the  focus  of  attention,  the  others  suffer.  If  in 
composition  work  attention  is  given  to  ''  good  writing,"  the 
content  suffers.  If  in  arithmetic  the  numerical  combinations 
have  to  be  thought  about,  or  the  form  in  which  the  work  is 
put  on  paper,  the  problem  involved  may  be  entirely  lost  sight 
of.     If  the  child  is  talking  of  something  he  saw  or  heard,  the 


I02  :  Psychology  of  Childhood 

hands  which  should  have  been  busy  sewing,  or  chopping 
wood,  or  washing  dishes,  or  buttoning  boots  are  idle.  At- 
tention can  be  given  only  to  one  thing  at  a  time ;  any  number 
of  mechanical  operations  may  be  carried  on  at  the  same  time, 
but  only  one  that  requires  thought.  Progress  is  made,  then, 
as  operations  are  made  mechanical ;  and  the  faster  this  occurs 
the  better  for  the  fundamental  operations  in  all  Hnes  of  work. 
Here  again  it  behooves  the  teacher  to  analyze  the  situation, 
to  know  just  what  she  is  requiring  of  the  child,  and  then  to 
remember  that  nothing  becomes  mechanical  without  much 
attention,  drill,  and  practice,  even  at  the  cost  of  possible 
monotony.  Because  the  adult  has  for  so  many  years  done 
so  many  things  mechanically,  he  has  forgotten  that  once  he 
had  to  learn  to  do  those  very  things,  and  that  learning  took, 
for  the  time,  his  full  attention. 

In  intensity.  —  In  intensity,  or  concentration  of  attention, 
children  and  adults  differ.  The  child  on  the  average  does 
Compare  not  get  SO  deep  into  his  subject  as  the  adult  does. 
adults  with    'pj^g  waves  of  attention  seem  to  be  less  perpendicu- 

children  in      .        .        .         i  -i  i      i  .        ^  ^    ^         i 

intensity  of  lar  m  the  child  than  m  the  adult,  the  crest  not 
attention.  rising  SO  high,  nor  the  depression  sinking  so  far. 
He  is  more  likely  to  be  distracted  by  disturbances  of  any  kind. 
No  matter  how  deeply  absorbed  or  interested  he  may  ap- 
parently be  in  play  or  work,  he  still  is  "  all  ears  and  all  eyes  " 
as  compared  with  the  adult.  A  word  spoken,  a  sound  in  the 
street,  a  movement  made,  and  his  attention  flashes  to  the 
distraction.  Of  course,  this  is  not  always  true;  he  can  be- 
come absorbed,  deeply  absorbed  in  his  play,  but  that  is  not 
the  usual  state  of  affairs  as  hour  after  hour  he  occupies  himself 
with  all  sorts  of  things ;  nor  can  such  absorption  be  compared 
in  depth  to  that  of  the  adult  engaged  in  some  interesting  occu- 
pation, lost  to  the  world,  forgetting  his  meals,  engagements, 
to-whom  "  the  house  could  burn  down,  he  would  not  know  it  " 
might  apply.  Children  unquestionably  lack  the  power  of 
concentrated  attention  which  characterizes  the  average  adult. 


Attention  103 

In  duration.  —  Closely  allied  to  this  lack  of  concentration 
is  the  shortness  of  duration  of  an  act  of  attention.  Even  when 
no  distraction  occurs,  a  child  very  soon  tires  of  ^ 

'     .  (.  '  Tx^  Compare 

one  occupation,  or  one  hne  of  interest.     His  atten-  them  in 

tion  wanders,  fiittinsr  from  one  thing  to  another,  duration  of 
1       IT  1      r        1  rr^i  1  •    r    attention. 

dwelling  on  each  for  but  a  moment.  Ihe  chief 
cause  for  both  the  lack  of  concentration  and  the  shortness  of 
the  period  of  attention  is  the  poverty  of  mental  content. 
Since  attention  cannot  be  held  on  the  same  object  for  more 
than  a  few  seconds,  the  object  must  change  or  the  line  of 
thought  develop,  if  either  is  to  hold  the  attention.  Because 
of  his  want  of  experience  and  knowledge,  the  child  has  few 
associations  in  connection  with  any  one  situation,  he  sees  but 
few  possibihties,  and  consequently  he  soon  exhausts  the 
situation,  whether  it  be  mental  or  physical.  He  cannot  be- 
come very  much  absorbed  in  it  even  under  the  best  condi- 
tions, for  it  has  no  depth ;  nor  can  he  continue  to  attend  to  it 
for  very  long  because  he  comes  to  the  end  of  his  material.  If 
there  are  other  factors  which  serve  as  interferences,  and  there 
often  are,  —  e.g.  fatigue,  need  to  inhibit  other  impulses, 
physical  discomfort,  —  the  lack  of  concentration  and  the  wan- 
dering of  the  attention  are  both  increased. 

Change  with  maturity.  —  The  younger  the  child  the  more 
closely  he  conforms  to  the  above  description.  Power  comes 
with  age  because  of  the  added  possibihties  each  situation  pos- 
sesses, just  as  a  matter  of  mere  experience;  but  increase  of 
power  is  hastened  if  associations,  facts,  relations  are  definitely 
made  in  lines  where  attention  is  desired.  The  more  knowl- 
edge an  individual  has  in  any  Hne,  other  things  being  equal, 
the  greater  is  the  probabihty  both  of  the  depth  of  his  atten- 
tion and  the  length  of  the  period  of  attention.  This  is  clearly 
seen  in  watching  children  study.  Left  to  themselves  they 
read  over  the  lesson,  once,  twice,  or  more  times,  and  that' is 
the  end  of  it ;  they  have  come  to  the  end  of  their  resources, 
there  is  nothing  left  in  the  material  so  far  as  they  can  see,  and 


I04  Psychology  of  Childhood 

their  attention  wanders.  The  value  of  various  suggestions 
and  questions  in  connection  with  their  study  is  evident,  if 
merely  as  a  means  of  holding  attention  to  the  material  for  a 
longer  period  of  time.  Another  practical  application  of  these 
facts  is  its  bearing  on  the  length  of  school  periods.  The 
younger  the  child  the  shorter  the  period ;  the  less  in  any 
given  subject  you  can  call  on  the  child's  experience  the 
shorter  the  period.  The  length  of  period,  therefore,  must 
vary  not  only  with  the  age  of  the  child,  from  a  fifteen-minute 
period  in  the  kindergarten  to  a  forty  or  forty-five-minute 
period  in  the  high  school,  but  also  with  the  character  and 
newness  of  the  subject. 

Change  with  practice.  —  Not  only  will  experience  and 
knowledge  of  a  subject  increase  the  power  of  concentration 
and  the  length  of  the  attention  period,  but  practice  in  at- 
tending also  plays  a  large  part.  The  child  who  has  never 
been  required  to  attend  for  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  min- 
utes consecutively,  despite  the  presence  of  all  the  necessary 
conditions,  finds  it  very  difficult  to  do  so.  Adults  in  general 
have  so  fixed  their  habits  of  attention  through  mere  usage 
that  one  hour,  two  hours  and  a  half,  or  some  other  length  of 
time  is  their  "  working  period,"  at  the  end  of  which  they  be- 
come restless,  their  attention  wanders,  and  their  time  of  good 
work  is  over.  Habit  is  a  large  factor  here  as  elsewhere ;  and 
if  power  is  desired,  if  rapid  progress  is  economical,  then  a  habit 
of  protracted  attention-giving  must  be  formed  by  the  appli- 
cation of  the  laws  of  learning,  exercise,  and  effect. 

In  breadth  of  field.  —  Children  and  adults  also  differ  in 
the  breadth  of  the  field,  the  number  of  lines  along  which  at- 
Compare  tention  is  freely  given.  The  child's  attention  is 
"chUdr^^in  ^^^^  omnivorous  than  that  of  the  adult.  He  seems 
breadth  of  to  attend  to  anything  that  is  novel  until  the  novelty 
attention.  wears  off,  and  as  he  is  a  newcomer  lacking  expe- 
rience, everything  is  new  to  him.  He  is  in  the  grip  of  his 
instinctive  tendencies,  and  each  one  opens  up  a  field  of  atten- 


Attention  105 

tion.  This  is  a  natural  correlative  of  the  two  characteristics 
first  discussed ;  with  lack  of  concentration  and  the  short  at- 
tention periods,  of  necessity  the  field  over  which  attention 
wanders  must  be  broad.  For  the  adult  with  his  broader  ex- 
perience, most  of  the  everyday  things  have  lost  their  novelty, 
and  his  power  of  concentration,  due  as  it  is  to  knowledge  and 
habits,  serves  to  lessen  the  number  of  things  to  which  it  is 
necessary  to  attend.  Adults  are  bound  by  their  habits  ;  they 
have  lost  the  characteristic  which  in  childhood  is  so  charming, 
that  of  being  interested  in  everything.  True,  they  accom- 
plish more,  delve  deeper  because  of  this  power,  but  they  have 
also  narrowed  their  field  of  attention.  Every  habit,  every 
interest,  while  it  is  an  aid  in  the  field  to  which  it  applies,  is 
also  a  limitation.  This  condition  of  affairs  is  very  evident  if 
one  starts  to  interest  a  primary  school  class  in  something 
ad^apted  to  their  experience  and  understanding,  and  then 
tries  to  do  the  same  thing  with  a  class  of  adults.  This  breadth 
of  interest  and  attention  on  the  part  of  the  child  is  of  the  ut- 
most value  and  significance,  educationally.  Because  of  it, 
the  actual  interests  and  habits  which  are  fixed,  which  are 
selected  from  the  mass  and  made  permanent,  becoming  the 
foundations  of  character  and  conduct  and  giving  the  bias  to 
life,  —  these  are  determined  by  the  environment  and  train- 
ing. All  nature  does  is  to  provide  the  fund  of  tendencies 
toward  attention  in  all  sorts  of  lines ;  education  must  do  the 
rest.  The  effect  of  the  narrowing  of  interests  and  attention 
due  to  this  very  habit-formation  must  be  borne  in  mind  ;  be- 
cause of  it,  the  teacher  must  see  to  it  that  Herbart's  "  many- 
sided  interest  "  becomes  a  fact  in  the  life  of  each  child.  Broad 
and  manifold  interests  fixed  in  childhood  are  the  cure  for 
narrowness  and  bigotry  in  adult  life. 

In  t3rpe  of  attention.  —  The  attention  of  the  child  is  pri- 
marily of  the  sensory  type ;  that  of  the  adult  is  more  largely 
intellectual.  The  fact  that  the  numerous  instincts,  concerned 
as  they  are  with  sense  impressions  and  movements,  serve  in 


io6  Psychology  of  Childhood 

childhood  as  the  chief  stimulants  of  attention,  accounts  for 
this  state  of  affairs.  The  root  of  intellectual  attention  is,  of 
Compare  course,  in  the  satisfyingness  of  the  secondary  con- 
aduitswith  nections;  but  even  here  the  source  of  these  con- 
'theldnTof  nections  is  for  many  years  a  sensory  one. 
thing  at-  Observe  a  child  and  an  adult  out  for  a  walk.  The 
tended  to.  q\^i^  jg  ^Uve  to  seemingly  every  sense  stimulus; 
seeing,  hearing,  the  feeling  of  different  movements,  smelling, 
tasting  (if  allowed),  handling,  —  while  the  adult  is  conscious  of 
something  in  his  surroundings,  but  much  more  absorbed  in 
the  connections,  images,  associations,  and  memories  which  each 
sense  impression  calls  up.  The  practical  outcome  of  this 
difference  is  evident.  The  starting  point  for  habits  of  atten- 
tion is  in  the  sensory  field.  Ideas  as  concepts  and  abstrac- 
tions become  capable  of  holding  the  attention  only  as  they 
are  the  outgrowth  of  experience  in  perceptual  form ;  and  this 
development  is  a  very  gradual  process. 

In  ability  to  give  voluntary  attention.  —  Perhaps  the  most 
vital  difference  in  attention  as  the  individual  passes  from 
Compare  childliood  to  adulthood  is  the  increased  power  to 
them  in         stand  the  strain  of  effort  in  connection  with  the  act 

power  to 

give  forced  of  attention.  Some  acts  of  attention  are  spon- 
attention.  taneous.  The  object  of  attention  appeals  to  the 
individual's  consciousness,  either  for  its  own  sake  or  because 
of  some  value  attaching  to  it,  in  such  a  way  that  it  satisfies 
him.  There  is,  as  Dewey  puts  it,  an  identification  between 
the  individual  and  his  object  of  thought,  because  it  satisfies 
some  need.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  the  type  of  attention 
which  is  forced.  The  object  does  not  identify  itself  with  some 
felt  need,  but  because  of  duty,  or  social  pressure,  or  ideals, 
the  individual  feels  he  must  attend,  despite  the  effort  involved. 
There  is  division,  not  unity,  in  the  conscious  state.  A  child 
Jacks  power  to  give  forced  attention,  to  stand  the  strain  of 
effort  involved  and  to  attend  in  spite  of  it.  Probably  this 
lack  of  power  is  due  both  to  physiological  reasons  and  lack  of 


Attention  107 

practice.  The  natural,  childlike  form  of  attention  is  the 
spontaneous ;  forced  attention  comes,  if  at  all,  with  age  and 
training. 

Value    of    forced    attention.  —  The    respective    values    of 
spontaneous  and  forced  attention  is  a  question  still  open  to 
discussion.     The  very  characters  of  the  two  types  should  we 
of  attention  make  it  true  that  only  when  attention  'T"'"  f '"': 

•^  aren  to  give 

is  spontaneous  can  it  be  concentrated  and  sus-  forced 
tained.  So  long  as  it  is  forced,  part  of  the  energy  a«en'wn? 
is  used  in  keeping  one's  self  at  the  task ;  and  this  added  fact, 
that  this  effort  is  so  taxing  that  forced  attention  can  be  held 
for  only  a  few  seconds  at  a  time,  makes  it  impossible  to  do 
work  of  vital  worth  when  this  type  of  attention  is  employed. 
The  work  that  counts  in  the  world,  the  work  that  discovers 
new  principles,  makes  new  applications,  touches  the  hearts 
or  wills  or  consciences  of  men  and  women  is  always  done  by 
spontaneous  attention.  As  has  already  been  pointed  out, 
however,  the  spontaneous  attention  natural  to  childhood  is 
closely  connected  with  his  instincts  ;  and  since  these  are  self- 
ish and  crude  they  do  not  fit  an  individual  to  live  in  the  civi- 
lized life  of  to-day.  In  order  to  raise  spontaneous  attention 
from  the  sensory,  individual,  often  selfish,  level  to  the  level 
of  the  intellectual,  the  social,  and  the  ideal,  forced  attention 
is  a  necessary  means  to  an  end.  The  natural  man  does  not 
look  forward  to  remote  ends,  nor  does  he  deny  himself  now 
that  he  may  reap  greater  benefits  later;  nor  does  he  suffer 
individual  privation  in  order  that  the  group  may  profit  — • 
that  comes  only  by  training  and  involves  forced  attention. 
This  type  of  attention  is  necessary,  then,  in  the  present  scheme 
of  human  life  for  development,  but  it  is  only  necessary  as  a 
means  to  an  end.  The  end  must  always  be  spontaneous 
attention ;  instead  of  spontaneous  attention  on  the  level  of 
the  instincts,  spontaneous  attention  on  the  level  of  the  great- 
est and  best  ideals.  This  is  the  aim  the  teacher  should  have 
in  mind  in  developing  the  powers  of  attention  in  children. 


io8  Psychology  of  Childhood 

Effort  and  interest.  —  One  of  the  greatest  mistakes  educa- 
tion has  made  has  been  to  lose  sight  of  the  relation  to  each 
other  of  these  two  types  of  attention.  The  old  education 
believed  in  the  value  of  effort  for  its  own  sake ;  whatever  was 
hard  was  therefore  considered  good.  From  the  very  char- 
acter of  the  type,  though,  this  cannot  be  true  for  itself  alone ; 
w/  forced  attention  accomplishes  no  result,  it  but  opens  the  door 
to  possibihties  which  spontaneous  attention  left  to  itself 
could  ignore.  On  the  other  hand,  the  soft  pedagogy  of  to-day 
gives  a  fictitious  value  to  that  only  which  is  pleasurable,  and 
counts  effort,  therefore,  as  harmful  and  valueless.  The  truth 
lies  between  the  two,  and  the  recognition  of  forced  attention 
as  a  means  to  an  end,  as  a  stepping  stone  from  the  level  of  the 
instinctively  interesting  to  the  level  of  the  ideally  interesting, 
from  the  level  of  impulse  to  the  level  of  judgment,  from  the 
level  of  individual  interest  to  that  of  social  well-being,  —  this 
thought  is  one  of  the  most  important  contributions  of  child 
psychology  to  modern  education.  Because  of  the  recognition 
of  the  pecuUar  value  of  forced  attention,  the  need  for  motiva- 
tion is  being  felt  very  strongly.  For  the  child  to  desire  an 
end  that  is  valuable  to  him,  and  then  to  reaUze  that  the  path 
to  it  involves  the  effort  of  forced  attention,  is  to  give  the  true 
value  to  the  means,  and  also  to  train  the  child  in  the  power  of 
standing  the  strain  when  the  end  makes  it  worth  while.  This 
sort  of  training  prepares  him  for  life  situations,  gives  him 
perspective,  helps  him  to  judge  values.  The  child  who, 
keenly  desiring  to  build  a  boat  that  will  float,  feels  his  need 
of  the  knowledge  of  certain  measurements,  and,  despite  the 
effort  needed,  sets  about  learning  them ;  the  child  who,  de- 
sirous of  making  her  mother  a  Christmas  present,  finds  it 
does  not  look  pretty  because  her  stitches  are  too  large,  and  so 
practices  making  small  stitches  although  it  is  an  effort  to  do 
so ;  children  who  find  that  it  pays  not  to  spend  every  penny 
as  it  comes  because  later  they  can  buy  something  they  really 
want,  although  the  waiting  and  denying  themselves  are  un- 


Attention  109 

pleasant,  children  such  as  these  are  learning  the  true  value  of 
forced  attention,  and  are  forming  habits  which  make  for 
strong  characters. 

Incentives  and  attention.  —  Spontaneous  attention  to 
things  that  are  most  worth  while  may  be  gained  by  other 
means  sometimes,  as  well  as  by  forced  attention,  jjo^^do 
Although  the  multipHcation  table  in  itself  may  not  derived  in- 
attract  spontaneous  attention,  still,  if  abiUty  with  develop  the 
it  serves  as  a  means  of  display  the  business  of  learn-  Power  to  pay 
ing  it  may  arouse  that  type  of  attention.  Read- 
ing itself  may  seem  a  distasteful  task,  but  if  one  can  beat  one's 
neighbor'  it  may  be  intensely  interesting.  Obeying  one's 
mother  may  involve  great  effort,  but  if  she  be  the  queen  of 
the  land  and  I  her  devoted  slave,  all  commands  or  requests 
are  eagerly  looked  for.  Activities  of  all  kinds  derive  value 
if  they  are  closely  associated  with  or  involve  the  activity  of 
one  of  the  original  satisfiers.  As  James  points  out,  the  in- 
terest involved  then  spreads  over  and  imparts  its  impetus 
and  character  to  the  material  with  which  it  is  associated. 
Derived  interests  of  this  kind  involve  spontaneous  attention. 
Sometimes  the  incentive  may  later  be  dropped,  and  the  in- 
terest thus  started  continue,  l^re  often,  incentives  of  some 
kind  are  needed  all  through  life.  There  are  multitudes  of 
things  to  which  the  adult  gives  spontaneous  attention,  not 
because  they  are  of  value  in  themselves  but  because  of  some 
value  attached  to  them.  This  must  necessarily  be  true  be- 
cause of  the  make-up  of  human  nature.  The  suggestions  >/^n/ 
here  would  be,  in  so  far  as  incentives  are  necessary :  (i)  choose 
those  natural  to  the  child's  stage  of  development,  work  with 
nature,  always  making  use  of  what  is  there ;  (2)  choose  those 
most  natural  to  the  subject  to  which  the  attention  is  desired ; 

(3)  choose  those  that  will  appeal  to  the  greatest  number; 

(4)  choose  those  that  are  permanent,  i.e.  will  be  found  in  life- 
situations,  as  well  as  school-situations ;  (5)  choose  the  highest 
that  will  work. 


no  Psychology  of  Childhood 

Curiosity  and  attention  are  bound  up  together,  -and  the 
facts  usually  referred  to  by  the  term  "  curiosity  "  probably 
are  the  tendencies  of  vocalization,  visual  exploration,  and 
general  mental  activity.  There  is  probably  no  separate  and 
distinct  instinct  of  curiosity.  These  other  tendencies  have 
already  been  discussed,  and  all  that  need  be  said  here  is  to 
emphasize  once  more  that  children  do  not  have  to  be  cajoled 
into  thinking;  mental  activity  is  its  own  reward.  The 
cajolery  and  the  incentives  are  necessary  when  the  nature  of 
the  child  and  the  requirements  of  society  come  into  conflict 
and  the  conflict  is  more  often  an  imagined  than  a  real  one.  If 
teachers  would  only  make  use  of  the  rich  fund  of  iiistinctive 
interests  that  are  actually  present,  instead  of  substituting  for 
them  formal  and  artificial  requirements  and  incentives,  child 
nature  would  be  preserved  and  education  proceed  apace. 
Gesell  sums  up  the  matter  when  he  says,  ''  It  is  time  to  have  a 
reckoning,  to  reaUze  before  it  is  too  late  the  futility  of  pushing 
nature.  There  are  certain  basic  instincts  implanted  in  child- 
hood which  wedge  their  way  through  obstacles  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  their  purpose.  The  Httle  child  comes  running  to 
school  pushed  by  curiosity,  energized  by  feeling,  tingling  with 
response  to  sensation  and  reveHng  in  images  of  past  experi- 
ences, but  the  teacher  discards  these  sharp-edged  tools  which 
make  early  workmanship  easy,  and  substitutes  dull  drills."  ^ 

TRAINING  OF  ATTENTION.  —  Xo  develop  from  the^ 
instinctive  tendencies  to  attention  habits  of  sustained,  con-^ 
centrated,  and  spontaneous  attention  to  the  things  in  life  that 
satisfy  best  the  wants  of  the  individual  and  the  race ;  to  culti- 
vate the  power  to  stand  the  strain  of  effort  to  situations  where 
the  end  is  worth  while  and  this  is  the  best  means  of  attaining 
it ;  to  make  use  of  the  instinctive  interests  in  gaining  derived 
values  for  things  of  fundamental  importance  in  themselves 
but  for  the  time  being  of  no  value  to  the  individual ;  —  these 
objective  ends  make  up  the  latter-day  problem  in  education. 
*  The  Normal  Child  and  Primary  Education,  p.  308. 


Attention  iii 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  What  does  a  teacher  mean  when  she  says,  ''You  must  learn 
to  pay  attention"? 

2.  Why  do  such  things  as  flapping  window  shades,  the  starting 
up  of  the  street-organ,  a  person  turning  to  use  the  blackboard,  a 
different  pitch  of  voice  attract  children's  attention? 

3.  What  means  would  you  take  to  help  children  ''learn"  to 
attend  ? 

4.  What  is  the  value  of  having  children  assume  attitudes  of 
attention  in  the  classroom  ? 

5.  Illustrate  the  psychological  and  the  practical  difference 
between  gaining  attention  and  sustaining  it? 

References  for  Reading 

Bagley,  The  Educative  Process,  ch.  6. 

Dewey,  Interest  and  Effort  in  Education ^^.-^^^ 

W.  P.  Pillsbury,  Attention.  \ 

Any  standard  psychology,  chapter  on  attention; 


CHAPTER  VII         ^ 

SENSE  PERCEPTION 

ORIGINAL  ROOTS  OF  PERCEPTION.  —  The  human 
being  is  equipped  by  original  nature  with  certain  tendencies 
in  terms  of  connections  between  sense  organs  and  certain 
brain  centers  whose  action  results  in  the  mental  state  of  sense 
perception.  The  structure  of  these  sense  organs,  together 
with  the  delicacy  of  the  connections  between  them  and  the 
brain,  determines  to  what  situation  the  individual,  will  be 
sensitive,  and  what  sensations  will  be  aroused.  The  eye  is 
sensitive  only  to  certain  vibrations  of  ether ;  at  each  end  of 
the  spectrum  are  vibrations  of  which  the  human  race  is  uncon- 
scious. Insects  are  sensitive  to  musical  tones  to  which  the 
human  ear  is  insensitive.  Dogs  respond  constantly  to  slight 
differences  in  odors  which  it  is  impossible  for  human  noses 
to  detect.  Original  nature  sets  limits  within  which  sense 
perception  must  be  developed,  if  it  is  developed  at  all. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  PERCEPTION.  —  The  develop- 
ment which  takes  place  in  sense  perception  from  babyhood 
to  maturity  is  due  to  several  causes. ' .  Mere  inner  growth  pro- 
vides for  their  perfection  of  the  sense  organs  and  their  connec- 
tions ;  experience  provides  the  conditions  for  consciousness  of 
objects  to  be  evolved ;,  ■  changes  in  attention  result  in  greater 
clearness  and  definiteness  of  the  mental  states  ;  practice  gives 
greater  power  of  discrimination  in  all  the  departments  of  sense 
perception. 

At  birth  the  sense  organs  themselves  are  at  different  levels 
of  perfection.  The  organ  of  taste,  and  the  skin  senses  are 
just  ready  to  perform  their  functions  with  a  fair  degree  of 


Sense  Perception  113 

accuracy;  but  the  eye,  ear,  and  nose  are  very  imperfect  as 
organs.  However,  inner  growth  perfects  all  the  sense  organs 
during  the  jirst  two  or  three  years  of  a  child's  life,  so  that  most 
of  the  changes  which  occur  in  sense  perception  during  school 
Iife"axe"^ue"to^  the  other  causes.  The  kind  of  mental  life 
aroused  at  first  by  the  action  of  these  connections  can  only 
be  guessed  at.  Nothing  like  a  consciousness  of  qualities  or 
things  or  relationships  can  be  present.  James  describes  it 
as  ''  a  great,  blooming,  buzzing  confusion."  Certainly  it  is 
an  undifferentiated  mass  of  mental  stuff,  in  which  the  feelings 
of  bodily  pain  and  discomfort  stand  out  like  spires.  It  prob- 
ably is  not  very  dissimilar  from  the  low  level  of  mental  action 
felt  sometimes  in  a  slow  awakening  from  sleep  or  recovery 
from  anaesthesia  —  without  its  sophisticated  self -conscious- 
ness and  efforts  to  remember,  of  course  —  where  a  diffused 
feeling  of  warmth  and  well-being,  or  pain  and  cold,  quite  un- 
localized,  appears  as  a  simple  satisfier  or  annoyor.  Sounds 
impinge  on  consciousness  in  a  dislocated,  meaningless,  noisy 
way ;  vague  appeals  to  vision  occur,  with  shape  and  distance 
unintelligible,  mere  dark  and  Kght  long  preceding  color. 

By  differences  in  simultaneous  sensations.  —  From  this 
confusion  comes,  in  time,  the  well-ordered  life  of  clear  per- 
ception of  the  adult.     In  the  first  place,  the  change 
from  mere  sensation  level  is  brought  about  by  the  percepts 
repeated  action,  and  varied  interaction  of  the  dif-  o^rtsefrom 

,      sensations? 

ferent  sense  organs.     When  a  baby  handles  his 
rattle  the  tactile  and  muscular  senses  in  hand  and  arm  are 
stimulated ;   when  he  shakes  it,  the  sense  of  hearing  as  well, 
and  the  sense  of  sight  as  his  hand  comes  within  the  line  of 
vision;    as  he  hits  himself  with  it  the  tactile  sense  in  other 
parts  of  the  body  is  aroused ;  as  he  puts  it  in  his  mouth  further 
tactile,  perhaps  gustatory  sensations  occur,  but  the  object    [ 
may  have  disappeared  from    sight.     When    some  one    else 
shakes  the  rattle  before  him,  some,  but  not  all,  the  sensations   /  , 
are  repeated.    When  other  objects  that  do  not  rattle  are  ^ 


114  Psychology  of  Childhood 

grasped  there  is  another  grouping  of  simultaneous  stimuli. 
The  rattle  may  be  pink,  hard,  and  smooth,  the  ball  pink,  soft, 
and  fuzzy,  the  toy  lamb  white,  soft,  fuzzy  but  of  a  different 
shape  —  and  so  on  through  the  endless  combinations  of  ap- 
peal to  different  sense  organs,  or  to  different  qualities  sensed 
by  the  same  organ.  If  his  rattle  stimulated  only  the  sense 
of  touch,  and  that  always  in  the  same  way,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  anything  more  than  indeterminate  sensation  could 
result  from  that  stimulation.  But  because  the  rattle  stimu- 
lates more  than  one  sense  organ  simultaneously,  and  never 
stimulates  them  in  just  the  same  way,  the  result  in  conscious- 
ness is  the  feeUng  of  ''  thinghood,"  or  sense  perception.  In 
order,  then,  for  definiteness  to  result  from  confusion,  a  world 
of  ''  things  "  from  chaotic  sense  feeHngs,  experience  must 
afford  conditions  of  the  simultaneous  and  varied  stimulation 
of  several  sense  organs  by  the  same  object.  To  the  extent 
that  this  kind  of  experience  is  lacking  or  limited  must  the  de- 
velopment of  sense  perception  be  handicapped. 

By  improved  attention.  —  In  the  second  place,  the  improve- 
ment which  takes  place  in  attention  makes  for  clearness  and 
definiteness.  So  long  as  the  attention  is  uncertain,  wandering, 
and  superficial,  flitting  with  great  rapidity  from  this  to  that, 
pausing  nowhere  for  more  than  a  few  seconds,  objects,  as  such, 
make  but  a  hazy,  incomplete,  and  often  inaccurate  impression. 
To  get  clear  outlines,  definite  and  accurate  qualities,  the  at- 
tention must  be  caught  and  held.  Defective  attention,  such 
as  a  "  scatterbrain  "  has,  for  instance,  results  in  deficiency 
in  sense  perception.  In  the  third  place,  practice  in  noticing 
things  and  their  qualities,  in  discriminating  fine  likenesses  or 
differences  between  objects,  makes  for  development  in  sense 
perception.  Any  environment  which  necessitates  or  encour- 
ages such  discrimination  must  develop  a  fund  of  sense  knowl- 
edge of  great  value ;  and  a  corresponding  lack  in  such  stim- 
ulating conditions  results  in  a  lack  of  mental  content  of  the 
kind  fundamental  to  all  intellectual  growth. 


Sense  Perception  115 

Resulting  differences  between  children  and  adults.  —  The 

chief  differences  between  the  sense  perception  of  adults  and 
of  children  grow  out  of  these  facts  of  develop-  How  do 
nient.  In  general,  children  lack  in  richness,  in  ^i^^^I^ 
dcfiniteness,  and  in  detail  of  sense  perceptions,  adults  in 
Despite  the  fact  that  there  have  been  tremendous  Perception? 
strides  during  the  first  few  years,  still,  the  ignorance  and  lack 
of  observation  of  the  common  everyday  objects  by  children 
of  school  age  are  appalling.  G.  Stanley  Hall  in  his  historic 
article  on  '^  Contents  of  Children's  Minds  "  and  likewise 
several  German  investigators,  both  preceding  and  following 
him,^  have  reached  results  that  seem  almost  incredible.  Some 
of  the  misconceptions  are  due  to  mere  verbal  analogies,  e.g. 
oats  grow  on  oak-trees,  and  butter  comes  from  the  butterfly, 
others  are  due  to  the  activity  of  the  child's  imagination 
and  his  tendency  to  interpret  everything  in  terms  of  his  own 
experience,  e.g.  thunder  is  God  groaning,  clouds  are  smoke ; 
but  a  very  large  number  are  due  to  simple  lack  of  seeing, 
hearing,  and  feeHng  accurately  and  with  attention  the  things 
that  are  in  his  daily  life.  It  is  hard  to  beheve  that  53  per 
cent  of  Boston  school  children  tested  had  never  seen  a  sunset, 
30  per  cent  never  saw  clouds  and  55  per  cent  were  ignorant 
of  the  source  of  wooden  things ;  and  yet  when  a  high-school 
graduate  believed  that  apples  were  dug  from  the  ground  as 
are  potatoes,  and  a  youth  that  had  lived  all  his  life  on  a  farm 
could  not  tell  how  a  horse  lies  down,  and  a  country  girl  did 
not  know  a  robin,  one  begins  to  realize  how  much  of  false 
sense  perception  may  go  uncorrected.  Hall  in  summarizing 
his  results  says,  "  There  is  next  to  nothing  of  pedagogic  value, 
the  knowledge  of  which  is  safe  to  assume  at  the  outset  of  school 
life  " ;  and  again,  ''  the  fact  that  children  see  objects  a  hun- 
dred times  without  acquiring  consciousness  of  it  suggests  that 
we  need  to  converse  with  children  about  the  commonest 
things."  Of  course,  with  this  great  lack  of  perception  of 
1  K.  Lange,  B.  Hartman,  J.  Olsen,  and  E.  Meumann. 


C^ 


ii6  Psychology  of  Childhood 

things,  there  must  naturally  go  an  even  greater  lack  of  per- 
ception of  qualities.  The  consciousness  of  clear-cut  blues  or 
reds,  of  curves  or  straight  Hues,  of  musical  tones  or  noises, 
of  softness  or  hardness,  as  well  as  space  and  time  relations 
are  characteristics  of  the  adult  rather  than  the  child.  He 
reaches  an  appreciation  of  elementary  sensations  only  as  a 
matter  of  analysis,  and  as  a  result  of  the  working  of  the  factors 
influential  in  the  development  of  perception. 

Another  striking  difference  between  the  perceptions  of 
children  and  adults  is  the  difference  in  the  amount  of  stimulus 
necessary  to  call  up  a  percept.  The  child  at  the  beginning 
needs  a  large  amount  of  stimulus,  and  needs  it  to  be  given  in 
just  the  same  way  in  order  that  the  perception  be  of  the  same 
object.  Mother  in  a  different  dress,  or  appearing  suddenly 
in  new  surroundings  may  not  be  recognized,  and  certainly  it 
is  a  long  time  before  mother  is  perceived  by  just  seeing  the 
back  of  her  head,  her  silhouette  in  the  distance,  or  her  walk. 
The  older  the  individual,  the  greater  his  experience  with  the 
situation,  the  less  the  amount  of  stimulus  needed  to  call  up 
the  percept.  This  fact  of  mental  development  is  particularly 
noticeable  in  connection  with  reading.  The  child  needs  to 
read  every  word  in  order  to  get  the  meaning  of  the  sentence, 
every  sentence  in  order  to  get  the  paragraph,  whereas  for  the 
mature  individual  the  important  word  or  two  in  the  sentence, 
or  the  topic  sentences  in  the  paragraph  are  enough  to  furnish 
the  sensory  clue  to  a  full  perception.  It  takes  time  for  the 
child  to  evolve  his  types  or  standards  in  connection  with  per- 
ception. As  he  accomplishes  this  end,  fewer  and  fewer  char- 
acteristics, less  and  less  of  sense  stimulation  is  necessary  for 
him  to  proceed. 

A  third  difference  between  children  and  adults  in  their  per- 
ception lies  in  the  power  of  "  mind's  set,'''  or  the  passing  mental 
content  to  determine  the  percept.  Every  one  is  influenced  by 
the  state  of  mind  he  is  in  as  to  what  he  will  think  in  the  next 
few  minutes,  and  a  previous  mood  is  a  strong  factor  in  deter- 


Sense  Perception  117 

mining  his  point  of  view.  We  all  tend  to  see  or  hear  or  feel 
what  we  expect;  witness  the  tragic  results  that  have  come 
from  simple  fraternity  initiations.  But  the  child,  because  of 
the  characteristics  of  his  attention,  is  even  more  influenced 
by  the  passing  mental  state.  Two  important  practical  pre- 
cepts grow  out  of  this  fact.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  very  neces- 
sary that  with  a  child  the  aim  of  the  work  be  kept  very  clearly 
in  mind;  he  should  know  very  definitely  what  he  is  to  look 
for  or  to  do  if  results  worth  while  are  to  be  obtained.  In  the 
second  place,  new  material  in  any  line  should  not  be  given 
until  the  child  has  had  time  to  warm  up,  to  adapt  himself  to 
the  new  line  of  work.  To  plunge  a  class  immediately  into 
new  work  in  geography  or  reading  when  their  thoughts  have 
not  yet  had  time  to  get  out  of  the  arithmetic  system,  leads  to  a 
waste  of  time  and  confusion.  There  is  need  of  "  prepara- 
tion "  of  the  child's  mind  by  getting  him  into  the  other  system 
before  new  material  is  presented. 

Cause  of  Illusions.  —  Because  of  the  strength  of  the  pass- 
ing mental  content,  children  are  more  subject  than  adults  to 
one  type  of  illusion.  A  child  in  the  dentist's  chair  is  hurt 
long  before  the  instruments  have  touched  his  tooth.  Sent  to 
watch  for  father,  he  sees  him  several  times  before  father  ar- 
rives. Having  talked  about  the  bluebird,  he  sees  the  flush 
of  its  wing  and  hears  its  call  when  it  may  be  only  a  robin.  If 
he  is  told  by  some  one  whom  he  loves  or  respects  that  such 
and  such  a  thing  is  there,  the  normal  child  of  seven  or  eight 
will  see  it  or  hear  it.  The  suggestibiUty  of  children  under  ten 
has  been  proven  by  experiments  in  many  fields,  but  every 
teacher  has  evidence  of  it  day  after  day  in  her  own  classroom 
as  children  see  and  hear  and  feel  what  the  questions  or  talk 
have  suggested.  On  the  other  hand,  children  are  probably 
freer  than  adults  from  illusions  dependent  on  habitual  inter- 
pretation of  phenomena.  The  adult,  while  reading  rapidly, 
is  more  likely  than  the  child  to  overlook  a  misprint  in  spelling 
in  a  word  familiar  to  both,  or  is  sure  he  read  the  name  of  his 


ii8  Psychology  of  Childhood 

destination  on  the  front  of  the  street  car  yet  finds  himself  up 
the  wrong  avenue,  or  fails  to  hear  the  transposition,  omission, 
mispronunciation,  or  whatnot  in  a  time-honored  quotation 
which  sends  the  child  into  mirthful  convulsions.  It  is  be- 
cause of  this  difference  that  a  child  is  sometimes  called  more 
literal  than  the  adult.  If  his  mind  is  not  very  much  taken  up 
with  something,  if  it  is  not  "  set  "  in  a  certain  direction  by 
suggestion  or  aim,  he  is  Ukely  to  see  the  facts  as  they  are, 
whereas  the  adult  may  be  influenced  by  life  habits  into  a  mis- 
interpretation. 

Specific  development.  —  Tracing  the  development  of  the 
perceptive  power  of  any  one  kind  is  extremely  difficult ;  the 
How  does  results  of  different  investigations  stress  different 
perception  factors.  However,  certain  facts  seem  to  be  gen- 
eveop  erally  accepted.  ''The  eye  in  early  childhood  is 
an  incomplete  eye,  naturally  underfocused  and  poorly  adapted 
for  near  work.  But,  as  general  bodily  maturity  approaches,  the 
eye  under  optimal  conditions  tends  to  become  emmetropic.  "  ^ 
Differences  in  brightness  are  perceived  at  about  six  months 
of  age,  and  during  the  second  half  year,  reds  and  yellows  are 
discriminated.  Blue  is  perceived  with  greater  difficulty  ac- 
cording to  most  investigators.  Power  in  discrimination  of 
both  colors  and  brightness  improves  up  to  about  sixteen  or 
seventeen  years  of  age.  Several  observers  have  found  that 
girls  and  women  exceed  boys  and  men  slightly  in  this  capacity. 
As  to  space  perception,  there  are  very  decided  differences  of 
opinion.  Sandiford  says,  *'  Judgment  of  distance  with  the  eye 
is  non-existent  in  growing  babies  (they  grasp  at  the  moon), 
but  by  the  time  seven  or  eight  years  of  age  is  reached,  it  is 
probably  as  accurate  as  in  adults."  ^  Thorndike,  on  the  other 
hand,  says,  *'  It  has  generally  been  assumed  that  man  has  to 
learn  to  respond  appropriately  to  distance,  —  that,  for  ex- 
ample, a  child  will  reach  for  the  moon  as  readily  as  for  a  similar 

^  Whipple,  Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests,  p.  139. 
2  The  Mental  and  Physical  Life  of  School  Children,  p.  122. 


Sense  Perception  119 

bright  object  a  foot  or  so  away.  But  I  am  unable  to  verify 
this  opinion.  Of  perhaps  fifty  observant  parents  whom  I 
have  questioned,  not  one  could  be  sure  that  his  children  ever 
reached  for  the  moon."  ^  On  the  whole,  space  perception 
for  short  distances,  helped  out  as  it  is  by  hands  and  eyes,  then 
by  locomotion,  is  earUer  and  better  developed  than  is  color 
perception.  Ziehen  and  Meumann  found  that  even  at  six 
years  of  age  considerable  accuracy  in  judgment  and  freedom 
from  visual  illusion  had  been  attained.  Conceptual  expe- 
rience of  such  distances  as  we  express  in  miles  is,  of  course,  a 
much  later  development,  as  are  also  interpretations  of  flat, 
perspective  drawings,  or  of  the  size  of  unfamiliar  objects  when 
shown  only  in  pictures. 

In  perception  of  weight,  it  is  probable  that  there  is  not  much 
change  with  age,  and  that  practice  has  comparatively  little 
effect  on  the  power  of  discrimination.  In  skin  sensitivity 
the  consensus  of  opinion  is  that  children  are  much  more  sen- 
sitive than  adults,  and  that  practice  improves  the  capacity 
enormously.  This  experimental  evidence  is  borne  out  by  the 
fact  that  in  some  industries  where  delicacy  of  touch  and  fine- 
ness of  discrimination  are  necessary,  such  as  knotting  willow 
plumes,  children  have  been  in  great  demand.  The  exquisite 
sensitivity  of  blind  people's  fingers  has  given  rise  to  the  ex- 
pression that  they  have  "  eyes  in  their  fingers,"  and  this  skill 
has  come  from  constant  practice. 

Sound  perception  is  supposedly  but  poorly  developed  in  the 
first  few  years.  Investigations  have,  however,  been  largely 
confined  to  pitch  discrimination  and  to  ability  to  give  a  melody 
--from  memory  or  direct  imitation,  with  but  little  attention  to 
judgments  of  intensity,  volume,  direction,  or  quality  of  sounds. 
In  pitch  discrimination,  besides  a  considerable  range  of  in- 
dividual variation,  we  find  improvement  with  practice  and 
with  age,  though  with  arrests  in  progressive  sensitiveness  at 
about  the  ages  ten  and  fifteen.  Fewer  than  forty  per  cent  of 
1  The  Original  Nature  of  Man,  p.  50. 


I20  Psychology  of  Childhood 

children  under  six  can  give  a  melody  from  memory  according 
to  Monroe ;  ^  this  capacity  obviously  improves  a  great  deal 
with  age  and  practice.  Perception  of  rhythm  may  appear  in 
year-old  infants,  though  it  may  be  noticeably  deficient  as  late 
as  seven  years.  Duple  and  quadruple  time  is  naturally  easier 
than  triple,  especially  to  reproduce.  The  longer  beat  in 
periods  and  cadences,  whether  in  music,  prose,  or  poetry,  is 
frequently  not  felt  till  the  adolescent  period  when  there  is  an 
added  interest  in  and  appreciation  of  many  sense  perceptions. 
Perception  of  long  periods  of  time  develops  but  slowly.  A 
four-year-old  is  confused  as  to  yesterday,  tomorrow,  next 
week.  Meumann  thinks  that  all  complex  time  concepts  such 
as  last  spring,  day  before  yesterday,  a  month  ago,  are  quite 
unintelligible  to  a  six-year-old.  Arithmetic  books  to  the 
contrary,  the  eight-year-old's  day  is  from  waking  time  till 
dark,  contaiaing  a  varying,  indefinite  number  of  hours.  Not 
till  nine  or  more  birthdays  have  passed  does  a  child  begin  to 
regard  a  year  as  other  than  a  wonderfully  long  period,  and  to 
date  events  in  his  past  either  with  any  great  accuracy,  or  over 
long  intervals. 

SENSE  ORGANS.  —  General  psychology  as  well  as  com- 
mon observation  emphasizes  the  fact  that  all  knowledge  is 
dependent  upon  sense  perception,  and  all  learn- 

What  sense     .    ^ .  ,.  .  i  ,       •         Tr    i  .  <• 

defects  are  mg  IS  conditioned  by  it.  If  this  type  of  experience 
commonly  "  jg  gQ  valuable,  obviously  the  first  thing  in  the  edu- 
cation of  children  along  this  line  is  to  be  sure 
that  the  organs  of  sense  are  in  a  condition  to  be  affected  by 
the  stimuli  presented.  Defects  of  eyes  or  ears  have  been  found 
to  mean  a  handicap  to  the  child  of  such  a  far-reaching  nature 
that  detection  and  correction  of  such  defects  is  one  of  the 
primary  duties  of  school  officers.  Extreme  defect  in  either 
of  these  senses  has  caused  children  to  be  considered  stupid 
and  even  mentally  defective,  when  the  only  trouble  was  inade- 
quate sense  organs. 

1  Ped.  Sem.,  Vol.  lo. 


Sense  Perception  121 

Eye  defects.  —  The  percentage  of  defective  eyes  among 
school  children  is  very  large,  but  the  exact  figures  will  vary 
with  the  kind  and  delicacy  of  the  test  used.  Some  investi- 
gators have  found  only  19  per  cent  having  defective  eyes, 
others,  at  some  ages,  as  many  as  92  per  cent.  Comparing 
statistics  from  England,  Russia,  Japan,  and  several  parts  of 
the  United  States  Rusk  ^  sums  it  up  by  saying  '^  from  10  to 
30  per  cent  of  the  school  population  have  vision  sufficiently 
imperfect  to  command  correction  by  glasses."  The  most 
common  defect,  also  that  definitely  increasing  with  age,  but 
fortunately  easy  to  discover,  is  myopia,  or  shortsightedness. 
This  defect  is  due  to  a  too  long  diameter  of  the  eyeball  from 
front  to  back  causing  the  light  rays  to  focus  in  front  of  the 
retina.  The  opposite  condition  —  too  short  an  eyeball  with 
the  rays  brought  to  focus  behind  the  retina  —  produces 
hyperopia,  or  farsightedness.  Here  there  may  be  no  loss  of 
acuity  of  vision,  and  with  some  effort  the  eye  may  be  forced 
to  do  the  work  required  of  it ;  but  this,  so  far  from  being  a 
benefit,  as  some  people  imagine,  will,  if  uncorrected  by  convex 
lenses,  induce  a  fatigued  condition  of  the  ciliary  muscle  which 
regulates  the  accommodation  of  the  eye.  A  third  defect, 
known  as  astigmatism,  is  due  to  uneven  curvature  of  the  cornea 
or  perhaps  of  the  lens  of  the  eye  itself.  Here  too  there  is 
danger  of  constant  strain  on  muscles  which  may  result  in  re- 
flex disturbances  of  a  serious  nature.  These  last  two  types  of 
defect  are  not  usually  discovered  by  the  ordinary  tests  of 
vision  applied  in  the  schools  since  they  are  designed  to  test 
acuity.  Consequently,  children  possessing  them  may  go 
on  year  after  year  using  up  their  energy,  perhaps  breaking 
down  their  nervous  systems  in  the  mere  effort  to  see. 

There  are  other  eye  defects  shown  in  lack  of  balance  or  con- 
trol in  some  of  the  six  muscles  that  move  the  eyes  in  their 
sockets.  The  most  serious  is  squint,  strabismus  or  ''cross  eyes," 
which  generally  results  from  excessive  hyperopia  in  one  eye 
^  Introduction  to  Experimental  Education. 


122  Psychology  of  Childhood 

causing  it  to  be  gradually  disused,  therefore  turned  in  or  out. 
As  the  double  vision  thus  experienced  is  confusing,  the  child 
soon  comes  to  disregard  the  retinal  image  of  the  squinting  eye ; 
this  further  aggravates  the  trouble,  since  power  to  focus  and 
to  move  is  lost  in  time,  from  disuse.  Prompt  and  early  treat- 
ment is  of  the  highest  importance  if  vision  is  to  be  retained. 
As  muscle  strain  in  the  eyes  may  result  from  the  less  easily 
detected  hyperopia  and  astigmatism  teachers  should  be  on. 
the  watch  for  symptoms  in  children  such  as  frowning,  smart- 
ing or  watery  eyes,  complaints  of  blurred  print,  bad  posture 
over  work.  Reflex  symptoms  exist  too,  such  as  headache, 
particularly  in  the  frontal  region,  perhaps  nausea  or  other 
forms  of  indigestion,  neurasthenia,  motor  disturbances,  and 
general  emotional  instabiHty. 

Another,  rather  different  eye  defect  is  that  of  color  blindness 
found  in  about  4  per  cent  of  boys  and  less  than  i  per  cent  in 
girls.  Red-green  blindness  is  the  most  common  form.  It 
may  be  in  one  eye  or  in  both,  and  therefore  may  go  unsus- 
pected till  a  careful  test  is  made.  It  is  nearly  always  con- 
genital, and  is  incurable,  though  children  may  learn  to  recog- 
nize some  reds  or  greens  by  means  of  differences  in  brightness. 

Ear  defects.  —  Defective  hearing  is  not  so  serious  in  its 
results  on  the  nervous  system  of  the  child  as  is  eyestrain,  but, 
when  it  exists,  it  interferes  with  the  development  of  percep- 
tions and  therefore  of  knowledge.  A  number  of  investigators 
find  about  20  per  cent  of  school  children  defective  in  one  or 
both  ears.  Such  children  frequently  show  an  imperfect 
language  development,  and,  because  they  fail  to  get  much  of 
the  instruction  in  the  schoolroom,  are  apt  to  be  considered 
dull  and  get  retarded  in  school  progress.  From  being  partly 
shut  off  from  the  play  of  normal  children,  they  are  in  danger 
of  growing  up  **  queer,"  anti-social,  bad-tempered,  subnormal 
physically  and  morally.  Once  the  condition  is  detected  the 
cause  of  deafness  should  be  sought  for  by  the  physician. 
Sometimes  the  removal  of  tonsils  and  adenoids  will  secure 


Sense  Perception  123 

relief;  but  if  treatment  will  not  effect  a  cure,  deaf  children 
need  to  be  taught  by  special  methods,  therefore,  for  a  time  at 
least,  segregated. 

It  is  evident  from  these  facts  that  the  two  senses  of  sight 
and  hearing  must  be  carefully  tested  by  experts  who  under- 
stand the  dangers  and  the  handicaps  that  various  types  of 
defects  cause,  if  children's  health  is  to  be  preserved  and  their 
physical  equipment  be  such  as  will  make  possible  the  accumu- 
lation of  a  fund  of  clear,  accurate  sense  impressions. 

TRAINING  IN  PERCEPTION.  Necessity  of  training.  — 
To  have  attended  to  the  condition  of  the  sense  organs  is  only 
a  beginning,  however.  Not  only  must  these  be  in  good  shape 
in  order  for  proper  perception  to  be  developed.  How  is 
but  children  need  training  in  the  methods  of  perception 
learning  through  their  senses.  It^  is  through  the  '"^^'"^ 
action  of  the  sense  organs  that  all  the  mental  stuff  comes  from 
which  is  built  the  world  of  knowledge,  of  imagination,  of 
reason.  It  is  fundamental  to  intellect,  to  character,  and  to 
conduct.  Limitation  of  experience  in  this  field,  or  incorrect- 
ness of  perception,  must  result  in  a  lack  of  some  kind  in  the 
more  complex  realms  of  mental  life.  All  this  is  known  in- 
tellectually by  teachers  and  educators,  but  it  is  far  from  being 
a  conviction  with  them.  Far  too  little  time  and  thought  and 
preparation  are  given  to  the  refining  and  enriching  of  the  sen- 
sory experience  of  children.  Yet  much  of  this  is  needed  if  the 
child  is  to  enter  into  and  possess  the  world  of  things.  He 
must  be  given  time  to  touch,  look  at,  listen  to,  feel,  Uft,  per- 
haps smell  and  taste,  many  objects.  In  nature  study  he  must 
learn  to  perceive  form,  color,  number,  relative  size,  position 
by  looking,  touching,  pulling  apart,  feeling  the  texture,  get- 
ting possibly  the  temperature,  odor,  and  taste.  In  music  he 
must  have  tones  of  varying  pitch,  intensity,  duration ;  he  must 
hear  the  difference  between  a^note  sounded  on  piano,  cornet, 
violin,  organ,  flute,  human  voice  of  different  qualities;  he 
must  feel  the  effect  of  groups  of  successive  or  simultaneous 


124  Psychology  of  Childhood 

tones  with  all  possible  variations  again  of  pitch,  intensity, 
duration,  rhythm,  and  color  value  before  he  has  what  we  call 
an  "  ear  "  that  is  cultivated.  In  spelling  he  must  look  at, 
pronounce,  write,  and  Hsten  to  the  letters,  syllables,  and  words. 
In  a  cooking  lesson,  amount,  color,  proportion,  texture,  space 
arrangement,  distance  must  be  tested  by  eyes  and  hands, 
while  ears  as  well  as  nose  may  help  judge  processes  before 
taste  sits  in  judgment.  The  hands  must  acquire  skill  in  move- 
ments such  as  kneading,  egg-beating,  and  this  depends  on 
discrimination  of  cutaneous  and  kinaesthetic  sensations.  All 
this  needs  careful  planning  by  the  teacher.  Left  to  themselves 
children's  percepts  are  hazy,  incomplete,  and  inaccurate. 
Definite  provision  and  preparation  are  necessary  if  the  percep- 
tual growth  of  children  is  to  be  what  it  should  be.  With  all 
its  faults,  the  Montessori  system  has  done  much  in  once  more 
calling  attention  to  the  need  for  more  training  in  sense  per- 
ception and  discrimination,  especially  to  the  gain  to  the  very 
little  child  in  using  touch  and  movement  to  help  out  the  eye 
judgment. 

The  whole  question  of  so-called  sense  training  or  observa- 
tion lessons  is  bound  up  not  only  with  the  facts  of  perception, 
but  also  with  those  of  attention,  memory,  and  the  formation 
of  concepts.  It  is  convenient,  however,  to  treat  of  it  at  this 
point  rather  than  later. 

T3rpes  of  observation.  —  Observation  may  be  of  three  kinds, 
according  to  Meumann:  (i)  inquiring,  or  purposeful,  to 
How  do  we  which  one  comes  prepared  with  varied  points  of 
''observe''?  yjg^  ^^d  definitely  directed  attention.-  The  act 
of  perceiving  may  be  either  leisurely,  as  in  looking  at  a  picture 
or  specimen,  or  momentary,  as  in  watching  an  event  in  rapid 
progress,  or  listening  for  a  sound.  In  the  latter  case  the  at- 
tention is  more  highly  concentrated,  and  after-images  and 
immediate  memory  are  relatively  more  important ;  (2)  non- 
purposive,  surprised,  forced  upon  one  by  some  sudden  occur- 
rence in  the  environment ;   (3)  purposive,  but  passively  expect- 


Sense  Perception  125 

ant,  in  which  one  is  definitely  attentive,  open  to  any  and  all 
impressions,  to  which  one  comes  with  no  points  of  view  clearly 
in  mind.  In  speaking  of  sense  training,  we  usually  mean 
the  first  or  purposeful  type.  In  this  the  function  of  attention 
is  firstly,  to  hold  in  mind  the  "  goal-idea  " ;  secondly,  to  in- 
crease the  clearness  to  the  sense  organs  and  to  consciousness 
of  the  details  observed ;  thirdly,  to  fixate  in  memory  the  things 
noted;  fourthly,  to  assist  in  classifying  or  analyzing  one's 
impression. 

Individual  differences  in  perception.  —  People  differ  in 
their  abiUty  to  concentrate  their  attention  and  to  resist  dis- 
traction. The  changes  in  children  as  they  grow  jjoyj^o 
older  in  their  power  of  attending  will  make  a  dif-  children 
ference  in  their  capacity  to  observe.  People  differ,  aduitsuT 
again,  in  the  amount  perceived  and  in  the  speed  their  oh- 
with  which  they  can  reproduce  what  was  presented ;  *^'''^^''^" 
therefore  as  children's  span  and  range  of  attention  increase 
we  may  expect  improvement  in  the  amount  and  accuracy  of 
their  observing.  People  differ  also  in  their  habit  of  using  the 
first  or  the  third  type  of  observation.  The  first  is  productive 
of  definite,  but  sometimes  prejudiced  results  in  a  narrow  field  ; 
the  third  may  be  vague  in  intent  and  method,  wide  in  scope 
and  serves  well  as  a  preliminary  stage  in  a  new  field  of  inquiry, 
reveaHng  lines  of  interest  that  may  be  followed  up  by  using 
the  first  type  of  observation.  Children  need  systematic  train- 
ing if  they  are  to  be  habituated  to  the  method  of  the  first  type, 
and  accomplish  ends  worth  while.  People  differ  further  in 
their  suggestibility  under  questioning  that  follows  the  act  of 
perception.  Children  under  twelve  are  much  more  suggestible 
than  are  adults,  therefore  their  reports  of  perceptual  expe- 
riences are  likely  to  be  more  inaccurate  the  more  they  are  inter- 
rogated with  "  leading  "  questions.  Another  difference  is  to 
be  noted  between  the  subjective  observer,  who  is  misled  by 
his  expectancy,  his  imagination,  and  his  interpretations,  and 
the  objective  observer,  who  readily  distinguishes   what   is 


126  Psychology  of  Childhood 

actually  perceived  from  what  might  be  subjectively  added 
This  difference  in  type  is  found  among  children  too,  thougl 
their  fluctuating  attention  and  intensity  of  interest  may  mak( 
them  less  consistently  of  one  type.  Girls  are  more  subjectiv( 
than  boys.  ^ 

Improvement  in  observation.  —  In  general,  natural  abiHt) 
to  observe  improves  steadily  up  to  about  fifteen  years  of  age 
What  stages  ^^^^^  which  it  declines.  Defectives  reach  theii 
of  develop-  highest  point  earlier  and  then  often  revert  to  th( 
^hsermtion  ability  they  possessed  at  eleven.  Spontaneous 
have  been  descriptions  of  perceptual  experiences  double  ii 
"'^'^  amount  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  fourteen 

according  to  Stern,  and  nearly  triple  between  seven  anc 
nineteen.  "  Increase  of  spontaneity  in  observing  and  noting 
is  one  of  the  most  essential  characteristics  of  mental  develop- 
ment." ^  When  pressed  by  questioning  further  facts  an 
remembered  and  reported  on,  but  after  fourteen  years  o: 
age  no  improvement  in  the  total  amount  thus  described  i; 
found. 

Children  of  different  ages  notice  different  sorts  of  things,  i 
we  can  judge  by  the  items  they  will  freely  report  on  or  ignore 
Under  seven  a  child  observes  disconnected  objects  or  person: 
and  enumerates  rather  than  describes  them.  To  this  "  sub 
stance  "  stage  succeeds  one  of  greater  attention  to  actions 
Girls  more  than  boys  are  apt  to  show  a  sudden  transitioi 
from  the  first  to  the  second,  as  also  from  the  second  to  the  nexi 
stage.  A  ten-year-old  will  begin  to  report  on  spatial,  temporal 
and  causal  relationships,  but  not  till  well  after  twelve  doe; 
there  come  the  stage  of  qualitative  analysis  of  the  object; 
presented.  Color,  contrary  to  presupposition,  does  noi 
appear  in  the  accounts  given  by  young  children;  in  fact  i 
child  may  be  fourteen  years  old  before  telling  of  it  sponta 
neously.  Girls  will  tell  better  about  persons,  boys  aboui 
things,  a  distinction  that  comes  out  also  in  the  noticing  o: 

^  Meumann,  The  Psychology  of  Learning,  p.  138. 


Sense  Perception  127 

color.  Boys  are  more  accurate  in  their  reports  than  are  girls, 
but  narrower  in  their  range.  Accuracy  increases  with  age 
and  practice,  though  here  again  the  sexes  develop  differently 
—  the  boys  improving  most  during  the  years  seven  to  ten, 
the  girls  from  ten  to  fourteen.  Training  to  observe  by  dif- 
ferent categories,  such  as  number,  color,  form,  has  an  im- 
mediate but  probably  not  permanent  effect  if  the  category 
used  is  in  advance  of  that  which  is  natural  to  the  age. 

Teaching  suggestions.  —  Some  appHcations  of  these  facts 
would  be :  first,  since  the  feeling  of  certainty  is  no  measure 
of  real  accuracy  of  memory,  children  should  be  trained  to 
rely  more  on  repeating  the  sense  impression  and  comparing 
their  memory  directly  with  the  perceptual  experience.  This 
habit  of  **  taking  another  look  "  is  much  needed  in  spelling 
and  accidence  for  the  estabUshment  of  correct  usage,  and  is 
invaluable  as  verification  in  science  work.  Second,  since 
children  lack  many  controlHng  ideas  by  which  to  systematize 
their  observation,  it  is  important  to  arouse  their  interest, 
direct  their  attention,  suggest  an  aim  or  "  goal-idea,"  and 
teach  them  the  value  and  method  of  use  of  such  ideas  rather 
than  proceeding  in  haphazard  fashion.  Third,  as  accuracy 
can  be  improved  by  training  while  the  amount  noted  depends 
more  directly  on  the  age  of  the  child,  emphasis  should  be  laid 
on  attention  and  verification.  Overquestioning  on  the 
memory  of  the  material  presented  will  not  assist  the  quantity 
recalled  very  much;  indeed,  the  high  suggestibiHty  of  chil- 
dren makes  this  last  a  doubtful  expedient  at  best. 

All  through  childhood  continual  contact  with  things  of  all 
kinds  is  necessary.  Consider  the  value  of  excursions,  muse- 
ums, factories,  nature  study,  handwork,  elementary  science, 
duties  about  the  home,  in  the  school,  on  the  street,  which  in- 
volve dealing  with  the  World  of  Things.  This  should  be 
followed  by  the  testing  of  the  perceptions  acquired,  at  first 
under  the  direction  of  the  teacher.  Also  situations  must  be 
arranged  that  encourage  free,  spontaneous  observation  on 


128  Psychology  of  Childhood 

the  part  of  the  child,  first  in  one  field  and  then  in  another. 
In  all  this  training,  it  must  be  constantly  borne  in  mind  that 
there  is  no  faculty  of  observation  or  perception  that  can  be 
trained  for  usefulness  by  a  course  of  arbitrarily  arranged 
material.  If  observation  of  people  is  needed,  training  in  that 
line  must  be  given;  if  of  nature,  the  training  must  be  with 
that  material ;  if  of  foodstuffs,  or  dress  materials,  or  musical 
tones,  or  words,  or  qualities,  or  relationships,  in  each  case  the 
training  must  be  definite  and  particular.  Further,  training 
the  eye  to  perceive  will  not,  cannot  train  the  fingers ;  they 
must  be  trained,  their  power  developed  by  their  own  activity. 
There  is  no  mysterious  transfer  of  power  from  one  sense  de- 
partment to  another.  Every  bit  of  development  acquired 
comes  as  the  result  of  some  definite  activity,  and  the  fingers 
have  been  much  neglected  in  the  development  of  perception. 
The  very  fact  that  in  childhood  the  sense  of  touch  is  most 
delicate  should  stir  teachers  to  make  the  best  use  of  it  at  that 
time,  not  only  in  handling  objects,  but  in  responding  to  tex- 
ture and  to  pressure.  The  muscle  sense  which,  combined  as 
it  often  is  with  the  tactual,  gives  the  true  feeHng  of  a  thing, 
also  needs  special  training  in  the  perception  of  form  and  con- 
tour. Nor  need  the  sense  of  smell,  decadent  as  it  is,  be  neg- 
lected. 

In  connection  with  this  matter  of  training,  Dewey  says, 
"  No  number  of  object  lessons,  got  up  as  object  lessons  for 
the  sake  of  giving  information,  can  afford  even  the  shadow  of  a 
substitute  for  acquaintance  with  the  plants  and  animals  of 
the  farm  and  garden,  acquired  through  actual  living  among 
them  and  caring  for  them.  No  training  of  sense  organs  in 
school,  introduced  for  the  sake  of  training,  can  begin  to  com- 
pete with  the  alertness  and  fullness  of  sense  —  life  that  comes 
through  daily  intimacy  and  interest  in  familiar  occupations."  * 
Hall  emphasizes  something  of  the  same  truth  when  he  says, 
'*  The  best  preparation  parents  can  give  their  children  for  good 
^  School  and  Society,  p.  24. 


Sense  Perception  129 

school  training,  is  to  make  them  acquainted  with  natural 
objects,  especially  with  the  sights  and  sounds  of  the  country."  ^ 
Although  the  country  offers  the  best  opportunities  to  develop 
perceptions  in  connection  with  the  natural  world,  yet  the  city, 
the  great  field  of  industry,  of  the  result  of  man's  labor  and 
invention,  offers  measureless  opportunities  for  development 
along  different  lines.  No  matter  where  the  child  is  living, 
material  is  there,  —  living,  vital  material,  to  which  the  child 
is  constantly  reacting.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  teacher  to  take 
these  Hfe  situations,  and  in  connection  with  the  reactions 
which  naturally  take  place  to  develop  perceptions  which  are 
clear,  correct,  and  adequate,  to  see  to  iOhaTthey  are  as  numer- 
ous and  rich  as  possible,  and  to  supply  material  or  motive 
when  either  is  lacking ;  for  upon  the  material  gathered  from 
sense  perception  will  depend  all  future  growth  and  develop- 
ment. 

Exercises 

1.  Spend  15  minutes  in  each  of  three  or  four  classrooms  noting 
indications  of  defective  vision  or  hearing  among  the  children. 
Verify  by  consulting  the  teacher  for  names  of  the  children  sus- 
pected and  by  looking  up  such  records  as  the  school  keeps  of  each 
child's  physical  condition. 

2.  Find  out  who  has  charge  of  examining  children  for  sense 
defects,  (i)  in  the  rural  districts  nearest  you,  (2)  for  the  high- 
school  population. 

3.  Get  specimens  of  the  physical  report  cards  used  in  the  city 
or  county  where  you  live. 

4.  Have  a  short  selection  played  on  a  victrola  five  or  six  times. 

Attend  the  first  time  to  the  melody. 

Attend  the  second  time  to  the  rhythm. 

Attend  the  third  time  to  the  quality  of  the  sounds. 

Attend  the  fourth  time  to  the  alterations  in  tempo  (if 

any)  or  extremes  of  pitch. 
Attend  the  fifth  time  to  the  harmony. 
Attend  the  sixth  time  to  the  thoughts  or  images  suggested. 
^  The  Contents  of  Children's  Minds. 


130  Psychology  of  Childhood 

Notice  how  different  your  attention  feels  each  time.  In  which 
case  did  you  get  the  least  result?  Why?  What  does  this  sug- 
gest for  teaching  ? 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  How  does  the  method  used  in  the  early  teaching  of  Helen 
Keller,  or  of  deaf-mutes,  illustrate  the  growth  of  perception  from 
sensation  ? 

2.  What  is  the  difference  in  attention  when  one  looks,  looks  at, 
or  looks  for  ?    Or  listens,  listens  to,  listens  for  ? 

3.  Illustrate  effects  of  the  law  of  "mind's  set"  during  a  sense 
presentation. 

4.  What  is  the  fault  in  teaching  as  follows :  giving  fifth-grade 
children  a  map  saying  ''Study  that  for  next  time"?  Announcing 
that  "I  want  you  to  listen  while  this  is  played  and  then  tell  me 
what  you  notice"? 

5.  Mention  cases  where  touching  and  manipulating  objects  are 
of  great  assistance  in  helping  correct  perception. 

References  for  Reading 

Hall,  Aspects  of  Child  Life  and  Education,  pp.  1-52. 
Whipple,  Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests,  ch.  8. 
Meumann,  The  Psychology  of  Learning,  ch.  4. 
Terman,  The  Hygiene  of  the  School  Child,  chs.  13,  14. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
MEMORY 

PHYSIOLOGICAL  BASIS  OF  MEMORY. -- The  term 
*'  memory  "  has  been  used  to  refer  to  several  different  kinds 
of  mental  processes,  but  in  its  most  general  use  it  What  is 
refers  to  the  fact  that  a  situation  tends  to  evoke  ^^em- 
the  mental  response  with  which  it  has  previously  ory"? 
been  connected.  The  original  roots  of  this  tendency  are  to 
be  found  in  the  modifiability  of  the  synapses  in  the  cortex. 
A  connection  once  made  leaves  its  mark  on  the  synapses 
involved.  The  synapses  concerned  in  memory,  then,  are 
those  of  the  secondary  connections.  As  was  pointed  out  in 
Chapter  V,  the  possession  of  these  tendencies  to  secondary 
connections  is  one  of  the  distinguishing  marks  of  the  human 
species,  and  the  great  modifiability  and  retentive  power  of 
the  synapses  produce  in  man  a  power  of  memory  infinitely 
above  that  of  the  lower  animals.  Good  and  poor  memories 
find  their  ultimate  explanation  in  this  plasticity  of  synapses. 
They  are  a  result  of  the  physiological  structure,  a  gift  of 
original  nature,  and  although  conditions  hindering  the  best 
action  and  development  of  memory  may  be  removed  and  be 
replaced  by  stimulating  ones,  still  the  original  retentiveness 
remains  unchanged.  Memory,  as  a  physiological  quality 
of  brain  tissue,  cannot  be  improved. 

IMMEDIATE  MEMORY  AND  RETENTION.  —  To  dis- 
tinguish further  between  the  different  usages  of  the  term,  we 
may  recall  from  general  psychology  that  it  may  stand  for 
(i)  immediate  memory,  that  is,  the  reproduction  of  material 
without  any  appreciable  time  interval  between  the  impres- 

131 


132  Psychology  of  Childhood 

sion  and  the  expression;  and  (2)  retention,  indicating  the 
power  to  reproduce  material  after  a  considerable  interval, 
varying  from  hours  to  months,  has  elapsed.  It  is  important  to 
notice  in  which  of  the  two  senses  the  term  ''memory"  is  being 
used ;  for  the  development  is  quite  unlike  in  the  two  abilities, 
as  is  also  the  difference  between  children  and  adults.  Many 
authors  use  the  expression  *'  memorizing  "  when  discussing 
immediate  memory,  since  rote  memorizing  for  laboratory 
purposes  has  usually  been  tested  immediately.  Naturally, 
for  schoolroom  purposes,  a  teacher's  use  of  the  same  ex- 
pression by  no  means  coincides  with  the  experimenter's  idea 
of  mere  immediate  reproduction. 

Difference  between  children  and  adults.  —  Contrary  to 
popular  opinion,  adults  can  memorize  better  than  children 
„     ^  can.     Children  fall  far  below  adults  in  their  power 

How  do  .  A  ti     1  •  t        . 

adults  and  of  immediate  memory.  All  the  e>cperimental  evi- 
cAiWren  dence  goes  to  show  that  there  is  a  gradual  improve- 
ment in  this  power  up  to  about  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years  of  age.  After  that  period  memory  fluctuates.  Some 
investigators,  Meumann  in  particular,  claim  that  improve- 
ment goes  on,  though  unsteadily,  up  to  about  twenty-two, 
with  a  rapid  gain  in  the  early  teens,  whereas  many  others 
find  but  slight  improvement  after  fourteen.  A  few  psy- 
chologists, G.  Stanley  Hall  in  particular,  find  that  the  age 
from  ten  to  twelve  or  thirteen  is  the  opportune  time  for 
memory  development;  the  majority  agree  on  no  one  period 
as  better  than  any  other. 

The  facts  concerning  permanent  memory  tend  to  bear  out 
the  common  impression  that  children  have  better  memorie£ 
than  adults.  It  is  probable  that  what  on  the  ground  of 
theory  one  would  suppose  to  be  true,  is  really  true ;  namely 
that  the  retentive  power  of  children  is  greater  than  that  of 
adults.  Although  retentiveness  is  weak  during  the  first 
four  years  it  improves  steadily  up  to  about  twelve  years  old 
or  perhaps  slightly  later;  after  that,  both  ability  and  ac- 


Memory  133 

curacy  in  retention  fall  off.  So  that  although  children  forget 
more  than  adults  do,  as  is  proved  by  the  conditions  of  im- 
mediate memory,  the  material  that  survives  the  process  of 
obliviscence  is  retained  longer  than  the  same  material  by  the 
adult.  Combining  the  facts  of  immediate  memory  and 
retention,  then,  a  child  of  ten  would  not  learn  so  easily  as  an 
adult  of  thirty  for  an  immediate  test  of  memory,  would  forget 
more  during  the  first  twenty  minutes  following  the  memoriz- 
ing, but  would  keep  better  to  the  next  day  or  next  week 
whatever  survived  this  first  forgetting  period.  Whatever  may 
be  the  factors  that  account  for  this  difference,  greater  interest, 
greater  plasticity,  fewer  mental  processes  going  on,  or  fewer 
facts  already  fixed  in  memory,  the  fact  still  remains  that  what 
one  gets  in  childhood  is  more  Ukely  to  remain  than  what  is 
fixed  at  any  other  time  in  Hfe.  In  old  age,  or  sickness,  it  is  the 
more  lately  acquired  associations  of  maturity  which  are  the  first 
to  fade  or  become  inaccurate ;  those  made  in  childhood  persist. 
The  recent  work  of  the  Freudian  school  tends  to  emphasize 
this  fact,  though  rather  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  force 
of  early  impressions  tinged  with  any  emotion  or  excitement. 
Suggestions  for  teaching.  —  The  practical  suggestions 
arising  from  these  facts  are  self-evident.  If  connections, 
associations  are  worth  while,  childhood  is  the  time  to  fix  them. 
Later  in  life  they  can  be  fixed  only  at  the  expenditure  of  much 
unnecessary  time  and  labor,  and  sometimes  even  that  will 
not  suffice.  Our  forefathers  were  right  in  theory,  although 
the  material  chosen  may  have  been  faulty,  when  they  in- 
sisted on  children's  memorizing  poetry,  speeches,  maxims, 
and  passages  from  the  Bible.  If  such  material  is  worth  having 
in  memory,  the  time  for  getting  it  is  before  puberty.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  fact  that  immediate  memory  is  comparatively 
poor  in  childhood  makes  it  imperative  that  measures  be  taken 
to  insure  the  retention  of  the  material  beyond  the'  most  active 
period  of  obliviscence.  The  value  of  ''  overlearning "  for 
purposes  of  recall  needs  to  Jbe„ impressed  on  teachers  and 


134  Psychology  of  Childhood 

students.  To  be  able  to  repeat  a  thing  once  without  error, 
though  it  may  satisfy  a  laboratory  requirement,  does  not 
argue  a  memory  of  it  in  the  sense  of  probable  accurate  re- 
tention. The  correctness  may  be  a  matter  of  chance  as  every 
learner  discovers  when  ''  trying  once  more."  Consequently, 
children  should  be  encouraged  to  learn  till  they  can  repeat 
material  at  least  twice  running  without  error,  which  will  entail 
a  much  greater  number  of  repetitions  and  efforts  to  recall, 

MEMORY  FOR  VARIED  MATERIAL.  —  Memory  for 
different  types  of  material  has  been  described,  emphasized, 
and  tested  by  Binet,  Meumann,  Netschajeff,  Lobsien,  Pohl- 
mann,  and  others.  Unfortunately  the  nomenclature  is  apt 
to  be  confusing  —  for  instance :  auditory  impressions  were 
given  of  a  series  of  different  sorts  of  sounds,  such  as  clapping, 
whistling,  stamping;  or  of  words  meaning  sounds,  such  as 
music,  song;  or  digits  were  spoken  rather  than  presented  in 
series  to  the  eye,  and  any  one  of  these  things  may  be  meant 
when  speaking  of  "  auditory  memory."  However,  there  is 
no  guarantee  that  material  presented  to  any  one  sense  organ 
is  remembered  in  corresponding  imagery,  so  that  *'  memory 
for  auditory  presentations  "  would  be  a  more  accurate  way 
of  expressing  the  facts.  Moreover,  to  write  a  description  of 
a  sound  heard,  as  in  the  first  series  described  above,  is  not 
the  same  sort  of  thing  as  making  a  similar  series  of  sounds 
one's  self,  as  is  demanded  in  a  music  test,  nor  is  it  so  simple 
as  writing  down  a  series  of  numerals  heard  rather  than  seen. 

Ages  of  development.  —  With  these  precautions  in  mind 
we  may  accept  the  findings  of  Smedley  ^  that  auditory  memory 
develops  rapidly  up  to  about  14  years  of  age  and 
the^different  ^^^  slowly  afterwards,  while  visual  memory  seems 
types  of        to  develop  up  to  about  15  or  16  years  of  a.ge.     Be- 
7eveiop?       ^^^^  9'  auditory  memory  is  stronger  than  visual,_ 
Though  on  the  whole  there  is  general  improve- 
ment up  to  the  teens,  yet  the  rate  for  different  forms  of 
*  Report,  Dept.  of  Child-study  (Chicago  Public  Schools).    No.  3. 


Memory  135 

memory  is  not  the  same,  nor  do  the  maximum  periods  for 
all  coincide.  Netschajeff^  and  Lobsien  agree  in  pointing 
out  periods  of  rapid  improvement  in  some  forms  of  memory- 
followed  by  periods  of  lack  of  improvement.  Before  twelve 
years  old  concrete  words  are  better  remembered  than  are 
abstract  terms,  and,  as  might  be  expected,  memory  for 
objects  seen  is  better,  and  develops  earher,  than  memory  for 
woBds  or  numbers.  The  years  ten  to  twelve  are  specially 
favorable,  the  period  fourteen  to  fifteen  specially  unfavorable 
for  development.  Girls  are  better  than  boys  during  the 
ages  eleven  to  fourteen,  and  usually  reproduce  more  of  the 
material,  though  with  less  accuracy  in  the  order,  than  boys. 
Other  sex  differences  are  as  follows :  *'  With  boys  the  memory 
for  objects  is  first  developed,  then  words  of  visual  content, 
words  of  auditory  content,  sounds,  terms  denoting  tactual 
and  motor  experiences,  numbers,  abstract  conceptions,  and, 
lastly,  emotional  terms;  with  girls,  the  order  is  words  of 
visual  content,  objects,  sounds,  numbers,  abstract  concep- 
tions, words  of  auditory  content,  terms  denoting  tactual  and 
motor  experiences,  and  emotional  terms."  ^ 

It  should  be  noted  that  children's  memory  for  a  series  of 
words  denoting  emotions,  such  as  joy,  sorrow,  hope,  care,  is 
poor.  Naturally,  to  them  this  is  a  series  of  abstract  terms 
more  remote  from  their  normal  vocabulary  than  the  corre- 
sponding adjectives  would  be.  It  is  not  surprising,  there- 
fore, considering  the  late  development  of  memory  of  abstract 
terms,  that  children  should  do  poorly  with  Hsts  of  this  type. 
What  is  really  amazing  is  that  the  investigators,  on  such  a 
foundation,  should  have  based  a  statement  that  children 
below  fourteen  possess  a  very  poor  memory  for  emotions.  If 
we  could  induce  a  series  of  actual  emotions  in  the  children, 
or  arouse  them  even  in  imagination,  testing  by  normal  bodily 
expression  or  **  acting  out,"  we  should  probably  find  a  very 

1  Zeitschrift  fur  Psychologic,  24  and  27, 

'  Rusk,  Introduction  to  Experimental  Education,  p.  82. 


136  Psychology  of  Childhood 

different  state  of  affairs.  Certainly  children's  emotions  are 
keen  enough,  and  this  very  intensity  serves  to  recall  ex- 
periences after  long  periods  of  time;  but  we  need  a  more 
refined  test  before  accepting  at  face  value  any  conclusion 
such  as  that  stated  above,  and  so  frequently  quoted. 
Teaching    suggestions.  —  Two    factors    which    condition 

Cthe  recall  of  a  fact  are  the  depth  of  the  impression,  and  the 
number  of  associations  or  cues  which  it  has.  When  memory 
depends  primarily  on  the  first  factor  it  is  Hkely  to  be  of, the 
desultory  t3^e,  whereas  an  emphasis  on  the  second  factor 
results  in  logical  memory.  The  adult's  tends  to  be  of  the 
logical  type,  while  that  of  children  is  more  of  the  desultory 
type.  The  memory  for  related  ideas  improves  steadily  up 
to  thirteen  or  fourteen,  so  that  a  larger  proportion  of  the 
associations  in  the  child's  mind  is  of  the  desultory  sort  than 
in  the  adult's  mind.  It  seems  almost  impossible  for  an  adult 
to  hold  in  memory  a  fact  when  there  is  not  much  to  hang  it 
to,  no  relationships  or  reasons  that  will  serve  as  cues,  whereas 
such  facts  seem  simply  *'  to  stick  "  in  the  minds  of  most 
children.  This  being  true,  it  behooves  the  educator  to  take 
advantage  of  this  tendency  and  to  fix  in  children's  minds 
certain  more  or  less  isolated  facts,  such  as  modern  language 
-  vocabularies,  equivalents  in  mathematics,  names  in  geography, 
symbols  in  chemistry  and  physics  and  spelling.  Wessely 
affirms  that  "  vocabularies  (Latin- German)  are  reproduced 
more  accurately  at  the  expiration  of  one  to  four  weeks  when 
learned  by  twelve-year-old,  than  when  learned  by  fifteen- 
year-old  S's."  ^  This  is  a  strong  argument  for  beginning  modern 
languages  in  the  grammar  grades;  and  when  one  realizes 
that  it  is  from  ten  to  twelve  that  children  become  so  very 
much  interested  in  secret  languages,  dog  Latin,  etc.,  the 
motive  for  such  work  is  supported.  As  this  type  depends 
primarily  on  the  depth  of  the  impression  for  the  power  of 
recall,  it  is  necessary  that  the  impression  be  made  as  intense 
*  Summarized  by  Whipple,  Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests,  p.  376. 


Memory  137 

as  possible  by  use  of  appeals  to  native  attention  and  in- 
stinctive interests.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fact  that  logical 
memory  develops  with  age,  being  a  secondary  form,  offers 
many  opportunities  for  training.  There  is  no  question  that 
logical  memory  is  the  more  efficient  type  in  the  long  run, 
although  desultory  memory  is  of  value  to  all  people  some- 
times, and  for  certain  professions  is-  an  absolute  necessity. 
The  development  and  training  of  logical  memory  is  one  of 
the  means  of  developing  children's  thinking  power,  and  from 
another  point  of  view  it  is  an  essential  element  in  all  thinking. 
RELATION  OF  RATE  OF  LEARNING  TO  RETENTION. 
—  It  has  been  customary  for  teachers  to  regard  with  sus- 
picion the  child  who   learns    his    lesson  in  very  ,  ,^  ^ 

^  ,  Jsitadvan- 

much  less  time  than  the  rest  of  the  class  need,  tageousto 
The  maxim  "  Easy  come,  easy  go "  has  been  '^^T" 
firmly  fixed  with  respect  to  memory  work.  Recent 
experiments  with  both  children  and  adults  as  subjects  prove 
conclusively  that  the  quick  learner  is  not  the  quick  forgetter. 
Children  who  learn  quickly  retain  more  on  the  average  than 
those  who  learn  slowly,  both  as  tested  by  immediate  and 
permanent  memory.  It  is  very  important  that  all  those 
dealing  with  children  bear  this  fact  in  mind.  The  quick 
learner,  whose  work  is  looked  upon  with  suspicion,  and  who 
is  sent  back  to  it  again  and  again,  is  not  only  developing  an 
emotional  attitude  of  dislike  or  indifference  for  the  subject 
and  sometimes  even  for  the  school,  but  he  is  forming  bad 
habits  of  work.  He  is  learning  not  to  put  his  best  work  into 
his  study,  not  to  work  at  his  highest  speed,  because  it  "  doesn't 
pay."  He  forms  habits  of  half-hearted  work  of  divided  at- 
tention, and  the  teacher  is  to  blame.  Many  children  of 
bright  minds  and  quick  memories  may  thus  have  been  almost 
ruined  for  their  best  work,  just  because  their  abiHty  was  not 
given  full  rating,  was  not  accepted  at  face  value.  Of  course, 
all  children  have  to  be  taught  to  test  themselves  when  they 
are  studying,  and  to  know  when  they  do  know  the  lesson, 


138  Psychology  of  Childhood 

and  not  to  stop  just  short  of  the  threshold  of  recall  brut  rather 
to  go  a  little  beyond.  All  children  need  this  training,  but  the 
quick  learner  does  not  need  it  any  more  than  the  slow  learner. 
There  is  a  crying  need  in  school  for  a  recognition  of  this  kind 
of  ability  and  provision  for  it.  More  individual  instruction, 
less  formaUty  in  school  programs,  will  be  demanded,  more 
variety  in  material  offered;  but  such  changes  are  essential 
to  the  development  and  saving  of  the  quickest  minds. 

MEMORIZING.  Distributed  or  continuous  method.  — 
The  value  of  distributed,  rather  than  continuous  periods  of 
learning  is  obviously  important  in  the  case  of 
meViod  young  children,  because  of  the  characteristics  of 
sh<di  we  their  attention.  -The  younger  the  children .  the 
^iniearning?  greater  should  be  the  number  of  brief  periods. 
For  primary  children  it  is  certainly  better  to  have  a 
subject  twice  a  day,  than  to  concentrate  the  same  number  of 
minutes  into  one  period.  For  grammar-grade  children  it  is 
better  to  have  a  subject  for  a  shorter  time  every  day  than  to 
have  three  long  periods  a  week.  For  high-school  students, 
a  double  period  once  a  week  is  an  uneconomical  allotment  of 
time.  Not  only  do  the  characteristics  of  attention  involving 
interest  and  fatigue  make  this  distribution  advisable,  but  the 
fact  that  with  impressions  of  equal  strength  those  formed 
earlier  are  less  adversely  affected  by  time  adds  another  reason. 
Besides  this  value  of  the  aging  of  associations  and  the  extra 
opportunities  for  recall,  the  facts  of  repetition  and  correlation 
suggest  that  a  month^s  short,  intensive  course,  not  followed 
by  a  related  .course,  is  Httle  Hkely  to  produce  good  results. 
The  twenty  or  more  crowded  lessons,  isolated  from  other 
similar  material,  would  be  better  remembered  if  spread  over 
a  longer  period  with  more  opportunities  for  cross-associations, 
wider  range  of  relationships,  and  recall  at  longer  intervals. 
At  the  other  extreme  of  undesirability  is  the  course  of  forty 
lessons  spread  over  an  entire  school  year,  with  a  large  frac- 
tion of  each  period,  and  therefore  of  the  total  teaching  time, 


Memory  139 

spent  on  renewing  contact  with  the  subject  matter,  "  warm- 
ing up"  as  it  is  called.  However,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  both  the  character  of  the  minds  taught  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  material  must  determine  the  length  and  frequency 
of  learning  periods.  Too  long  periods  may  induce  a  lack  of 
attention  if  there  is  monotony  in  dealing  with  mechanical 
processes  or  material  very  nearly  mastered,  or  they  will  in- 
volve fatigue  with  young  children ;  too  brief  periods  may  not 
allow  for  orientation  in  meaningful  or  new  material,  nor 
for  those  children  who  warm  up  slowly.  Too  frequent  periods 
may  prevent  logical  synthesis  and  may  train  in'  cramming 
methods ;  too  infrequent  periods  may  result  in  dissipated 
interest  and  effort  and  in  shaky  habit  formation.  As  to  the 
intervals  between  the  periods,  experiment  shows  that  these 
should  be  small  at  first  when  dealing  with  new  phases  of 
subject  matter,  and  should  gradually  lengthen  as  the  periods 
themselves  perhaps  decrease  in  length.  Thus,  a  new  topic 
may  occupy  the  whole  of  Monday's  lesson-period,  two  thirds 
of  Tuesday's,  one  half  of  Wednesday's,  one  third  of  Friday's, 
take  one  fourth  the  time  the  next  Monday,  be  briefly  reviewed 
the  following  Thursday  or  Friday. 

The  facts  of  retroactive  inhibition  are  of  especial  value  in 
their  application  to  children.     In  all  learning  the  activity 
of  the  neurones  concerned  goes  on  for  some  minutes 
after  the  mind  has  ceased  to  engage  itself  with  shorthreaks 
that  particular  subject.     This  activity  tends  to  give  between 
added  strength  to  the  connections,  and  material  im-  ^desirahie? 
perfect  when  it  is  left  gains  in  perfection  by  just 
this    physiological    activity.    Any    other    mental    activity 
occurring  immediately  interferes,  of  course,  with  this  **  set- 
ting "  of  the  associations  and  therefore  weakens  them.     The 
greater  the  likeness  between  the  two  types  of  activity  the 
greater  the  interference.     In  addition  to  this  general  fact, 
the  peculiar  strength  of  mind's  set  in  children,  the  difficulty 
they  have  in  breaking  away  from  a  train  of  thought,  makes 


I40  Psychology  of  Childhood 

the  need  for  an  intermission  between  periods  of  mental  work 
almost  imperative.  In  the  upper  grammar  grades  and  in 
the  high  school,  where  there  is  departmental  work,  this  need 
is  met  by  the  passing  from  room  to  room,  but  the  younger 
children  need  such  a  break  even  more.  When  a  period  of 
mental  work  is  followed  by  one  where  handwork  predominates, 
or  singing,  or  physical  exercise,  the  interference  is  compara- 
tively sHght.  Even  in  this  case,  the  attention  may  still  be  ac- 
tively directed  and  physical  movement  largely  inhibited.  The 
best  plan  with  young  children  is  to  have  a  distinct  break  of  some 
kind,  an  intermission  of  five  or  six  minutes  between  periods 
where  from  the  character  of  the  work  involved,  time  is  necessary 
for  this  "  setting."     This  practice  will  facihtate  memory. 

Repetition,  concentration,  or  recall.  —  Given  something  to 
learn,  it  is  natural  for  the  child  to  adopt  the  method  of  repeti- 
How  should  ^^^  ^  order  to  fix  it.  He  will  repeat  the  material 
attention  be  over  and  over  again  mechanically,  but  it  is  probable 
a  juste  ^j^^^  j^.g  attention  is  on  something  else  after  the 
first  few  repetitions.  This  state  of  affairs  obviously  results 
in  waste  of  time  and  energy,  also  the  lesson  often  remains 
unlearned,  and"  bad  habits  of  study  are  being  formed.  And 
yet,  this  is  the  natural  method;  on  the  surface  the  easiest. 
Telling  a  child  to  "  concentrate  his  attention  "  has  Kttle  or 
no  effect.  Some  motive  must  be  supplied,  for  it  is  essential 
that  children  from  the  beginning  learn  to  work  while  they 
work.  There  is  no  royal  road  to  the  accompHshment  of  this 
end,  —  so  much  depends  on  the  individual  child ;  the  teacher's 
ingenuity  must  find  the  best  means  of  appeal.  To  limit  the 
number  of  repetitions  allowed  for  the  memorization  of  the 
poem  or  the  spelling  lesson,  or  to  limit  the  amount  of  time 
which  may  be  put  on  a  given  lesson,  are  incentives  to  con- 
centration, and  of  course  an  appeal  to  the  instinct  of  rivalry 
always  brings  results.  No  matter  what  the  means  used, 
children  must  be  taught  to  abandon  the  poorer  method  in 
favor  of  the  better. 


Memory  141 

In  many  cases,  even  repetition  with  concentration  is  not 
efficient  as  a  method  of  learning.  In  much  of  the  school 
work  the  object  is  to  get  the  meaning  of  the  material,  and  not 
to  learn  it  by  rote.  This  method  of  repetition  and  concentra- 
tion emphasizes  only  serial  connections;  there  is  no  oppor- 
tunity to  break  the  material  up  into  meaning  units,  no  en- 
couragement to  form  cross-associations.  The  connections 
being  formed  are  not  those  that  will  be  used  when  the  ma- 
terial is  called  for.  For  example,  in  studying  history,  a  boy 
is  making  connections  between  the  sensory  neurones  of  his 
eyes,  and  certain  associative  neurones  aroused  by  paragraph 
after  paragraph  as  he  reads.  But  in  actual  classroom  work, 
the  stimulus  will  probably  be  auditory  —  some  question  by 
the  teacher  —  which  will  require  a  breaking  across  of  all  the 
serial  connections  formed  and  the  selecting  of  one  small  fact, 
or  relationship.  If  in  his  study,  the  boy  has  prepared  for 
nothing  of  the  kind,  his  answer  will  come  with  hesitation  or 
perhaps  he  will  "  know  it  but  not  be  able  to  say  it."  He  has 
not  formed  connections  in  the  way  in  which  they  will  be  used. 
The  same  thing  holds  when  the  stimulus  is  some  life  situation, 
and  the  child  must  recall  from  within  the  answer,  with  no 
sense  cue,  and  no  series  of  related  associations  as  aids.  It 
is  necessary,  therefore,  that  children  be  taught  how  to  memo- 
rize, and  how  to  learn.  Not  only  must  they  learn  to  concen- 
trate, but  in  their  study  they  must  form  the  habits  of  jecalling 
from  within,  of  asking  themselves  questions  on  the  lesson, 
of  breaking  the  material  up.  There  are  various  aids  that  a 
teacher  may  use  to  encourage  such  a  method  of  study.  A 
common  one  is  the  assigning  of  topics  in  connection  with 
which  the  material  is  to  be  learned.  Asking  the  children 
to  find  answers  to  certain  questions,  to  frame  questions  on 
the  text,  to  make  topics,  to  pick  out  the  most  important 
sentences  or  facts  or  words,  —  all  these  prevent  study  by 
mere  repetition.  Even  when  it  is  rote  memory,  experiments 
have  shown  better  results  when  the  study  involved  recall 
from  within  as  well  as  repetition  and  concentration. 


142  Psychology  of  Childhood 

Whole  or  part  method.  —  Laboratory  experiments  have 

shown  that  the  whole  method  of  learning  is  better  than  the 

part  method  in  rote  memory  work,  that  for  instance, 

By  what        better  results  are  obtained  in  memorizing  a  poem  if 

method  .     .  i     i     •  ^     r  i 

shall  we        it  IS  studied  as  a  whole  mstead  of  stanza  by  stanza. 
adjust  the      General  psychology  makes  clear  the  reasons  for 

amount  to  i  i  i 

be  learned?  this  result,  and  because  of  these  reasons  we  should 
expect  the  whole  method  to  be  the  better  for  chil- 
dren. In  actual  school  practice,  however,  serious  difficulties 
have  been  met  with  in  the  application  of  the  method.  Col- 
vin  sums  them  up  under  three  heads.^  In  the  first  place, 
children  are  discouraged  because  when  they  spend  a  given 
period  of  study  on  a  selection  as  a  whole,  at  the  close  of  it 
none  of  the  selection  is  above  the  memory  threshold,  they 
seem  to  have  accompHshed  nothing.  In  the  second  place, 
some  parts  of  the  material  are  more  difficult  to  learn  than 
others,  and  therefore  it  may  be  that  many  repetitions  of  the 
whole  memory  material  are  needed  for  the  sake  of  these  few 
difficult  passages.  In  the  third  place,  it  is  rather  hard  to 
practice  recall  when  the  whole  method  is  used.  The  younger 
the  children  the  more  serious  these  difficulties  become,  but 
they  are  not  insurmountable.  If  the  length  of  the  selection 
to  be  memorized  is  adapted  to  the  age  of  the  children,  and 
they  are  warned  of  the  first  difficulty  and  incited  to  work  so 
hard  that  at  the  end  of  the  second  or  third  period  of  study  they 
will  know  most  of  the  selection,  discouragement  then  will  not 
be  serious  enough  to  be  a  hindrance.  Because  of  the  second 
difficulty,  it  has  been  found  advisable  to  adopt  a  combination 
of  the  whole  and  part  methods.  When  by  the  whole  method, 
the  selection  has  been  well  enough  learned  for  the  difficult  parts 
to  stand  out,  these  may  be  mastered  by  the  part  method,  and 
a  return  made  to  the  whole  method  for  a  completion  of  the 
learning.  So  far  as  the  third  difficulty  is  concerned,  the  only 
thing  to  do  is  to  encourage  recall  by  all  possible  methods. 

1  Colvin,  The  Learning  Process,  p.  i6i. 


Memory  143 

Colvin  summarizes  a  compromise  method  thus :  "  Select 
material  of  reasonable  length  for  one  period  of  study;  go 
over  it  carefully  and  slowly  for  purposes  of  orientation; 
repeat  this  until  the  general  nature  of  the  material  is  clearly 
understood,  then  increase  the  tempo.  Continue  to  learn  by 
the  whole  method  until  the  majority  of  the  material  is  raised 
above  the  threshold  of  memory.  Next,  strengthen  the  weak 
associations;  .  .  .  then  go  over  the  whole  again  till  it  is 
fixed.  It  is  desirable  to  raise  all  the  elements  considerably 
beyond  the  threshold  of  memory.  During  the  learning 
period  practice  recall;  also,  allow  several  minutes  after  the 
actual  learning  is  finished  for  recalling  and  fixing  the  associa- 
tions already  formed.  .  .  .  Relearn  the  material  on  several 
succeeding  days."  ^ 

Variation    in    sense    appeal.  —  Smedley  and   Pohlmann  ^ 
have  investigated  the  type  of  presentation  most  effective  in 
memory  work  with  children ;  they  agree  that  com- 
bined  appeal  is  more  powerful  than  appeal  through  aids  to 
any  one  sense.     The  order  is  probably  auditory-  ^^J^<>^y 
visual-articulatory ;      auditory- visual ;      auditory- 
yisual-hand-motor ;    visual  or    auditory   (depending  on   the 
age).     From  these  results  it  is  evident  that  writing  is  not 
always  an  aid  to  memorizing.     Colvin  thinks    that   it   is  a 
hindrance  up  to  the  sixth  grade.     After  that,  the  act  of  writ- 
ing has  become  mechanical,  and  it  will  probably  serve  as  an 
aid.     The  method  of  having  children  in  the  lower  grades  write 
their  tables  or  the  poem,  or  the  facts  in  geography  as  a  help  to 
memorization  is  probably  wasteful ;  but  to  hear,  see,  and  say 
the  material  is  the  best  means  of  impressing  it. 

It  has  been  found  that  rhythm  is  an  aid  in  learning ;  with 
young  children  the  interest  in  rhythm  and  the  tendency  to 
respond  in  rhythmic  terms  are  instinctive,  and  therefore  strong. 
Not  nearly  enough  use  has  been  made  of  this  original  tend- 
ency. The  energy  here,  the  interest  already  provided  by  the 
^  Colvin,  The  Learning  Process,  p.  i75-        ^  Zeitschrift  fiir  Psychologic,  44. 


144  Psychology  of  Childhood 

child's  nature,  has  been  proved  an  aid;  and  yet  teachers  in 
general  neglect  it,  and  use  artificial  devices  to  catch  the 
attention  and  insure  the  fixing  of  facts. 

OTHER    FACTS    INFLUENCING    MEMORY.  —  These 

general  characteristics  of  the  memory  of  children  have  been 

shown  in  interesting   and   concrete  form  in  the 

What  makes  .        .  .  °  .  i  .  i    i  i 

for  inaccu-  study  of  testimony  and  report,  which  has  attracted 
racytn  gQ  much  attention  in  recent  years.     The  lack  of 

memory?  .  i  .   ,        n  m  i  i  •         ^  i- 

capacity  which  children  show  m  these  lines  is 
caused  not  only  by  their  defects  of  memory,  but  also  by  the 
inaccuracies  of  attention  and  perception  which  have  already 
been  discussed,  by  the  inadequate  action  of  their  imaginations, 
and  by  the  fact  that  they  do  not  tend  to  put  into  words  what 
they  observe.  Whipple  in  summing  up  the  various  experi- 
mental results  says,  "  The  reports  of  children  are  in  every 
way  inferior  to  those  of  adults;  the  range  is  small,  the  in- 
accuracy large,  and,  since  the  assurance  is  high,  the  warranted 
assurance  and  reHability  of  assurance  are  both  very  low. 
During  the  ages  7  to  i8  years,  the  range,  especially  the  range 
of  knowledge,  increases  as  much  as  50  per  cent,  but  the  ac- 
curacy, save  in  the  deposition,  does  not  increase  as  rapidly 
(20  per  cent).  This  development  of  capacity  to  report  is 
not  continuous,  but  is  characterized  by  rapid  modification  at 
the  age  of  puberty.  The  one  factor  that  more  than  any  other 
is  responsible  for  the  poor  reports  of  children  is  their  excessive 
suggestibility,  especially  in  the  years  before  puberty."  ^ 
Inaccuracy  increases  with  the  length  of  time  elapsing  between 
the  occurrence  and  the  reporting,  and  with  the  number  of 
times  the  incident  has  been  described.  It  is  also  true  that 
a  report  may  be  absolutely  inaccurate  in  some  of  its  details 
and  accurate  in  others. 

These  facts  are  of  practical  value  in  dealing  with  children 
in   connection   with   school   situations.     Both   teachers   and 
parents  must  recognize  that  with  the  best  of  intentions,  chil- 
^  Op.  cit.,  p.  306. 


Memory  145 

dren's  reports  of  what  happens  in  the  school,  on  the  play- 
ground, and  on  the  streets,  cannot  be  accepted  at  their  face 
value,  —  and  the  younger  the  child  the  more  this  is  true. 
Much  of  the  trouble  arising  between  parents  and  school 
authorities  could  be  avoided,  if  they  both  could  be  convinced 
of  these  facts.  It  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  child 
is  often  not  conscious  of  falsification,  is  not  lying  in  any  sense 
of  the  term.  Such  inaccuracies  must  occur  under  certain 
conditions  because  of  the  incomplete  mental  development. 
The  parents  and  teachers  themselves  gave  such  inadequate 
and  false  reports  in  childhood.  The  danger  of  using  ques- 
tions with  young  children  to  get  at  the  truth  of  an  occurrence 
is  also  made  clear  by  these  investigations.  Every  question 
contains  a  suggestion ;  and  before  puberty,  when  the  children 
are  so  suggestible,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  them  to  with- 
stand the  force  of  the  suggestion  offered.  This  is  true  not 
only  when  occurrences  requiring  discipline  are  subjected  to 
questioning,  but  when  the  doings  of  the  child  or  his  family, 
excursions,  visits  to  museums  and  art  galleries,  or  even  the 
material  in  a  textbook,  are  asked  about.  Of  course,  this 
does  not  mean  that  questions  should  never  be  used;  bu^it_ 
does  mean  that  the  questions  should  be  most  carefully  framed, 
and  that  some  other  means  should  be  resorted  to  as  well,  in 
order  to  make  sure  of  the  truth  or  accuracy  of  the  reports. 

PRESENT  STATUS  OF  MEMORY  WORK  IN  SCHOOL. 
—  At  the  present  time,  memory  work  in  the  school  is  at  a 
discount.     In  many  quarters  it  is  considered  *'  old 
fashioned,"  and  '*  unpedagogical "  to  require  chil-  children  be 
dren   to    memorize,    and    the    work    of    children  required  to 

...  '  ,    .        1       ,  .   1         11.      memorize? 

m  the  higher  grades  and  m  the  high  school  is 
sufifering  from  just  this  lack  of  a  foundation  of   essentials 
in  terms  of  memory.     Memory  is  necessary  in    all  learn- 
ing,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out ;  it  is  also  indispensable      1 
in    constructive    imagination    and    thinking    of    all    grades.,^ 
With  sense  perception  it  forms  the  foundation  upon  which 


146  Psychology  of  Childhood 

all  advanced  mental  work  of  a  more  complex  and  inventive 
nature  must  build.  Incompleteness  or  inaccuracy  in  either 
of  these  fundamental  factors  results  in  serious  difficulties 
later. 

The  discredit  and  contumely  which  is  being  heaped  upon 
memory  is  due  largely  to  two  causes,  a  realization  of  its 
limitations,  and  a  reaction  against  the  dead,  formal  methods 
that  used  to  be  employed.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  memory 
training  of  the  past  fell  short  in  both  of  these  directions. 
Mere  memory  work  even  of  the  logical  type  will  not  prepare 
a  child  to  meet  efficiently  life  situations;  but  because  this 
fact  is  true,  to  go  to  the  other  extreme,  and  require  little  or 
no  memorization  is  absurd  —  it  makes  impossible  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  very  aim  in  favor  of  which  memory  work  has  been 
discarded.  Present-day  education,  in  its  desire  for  inde- 
pendence  of  thought,  originality  of  belief,  and  freedom  of 
conduct,  is  in  danger  of  inducing  a  fooHsh  lack  of  dependence 
on  facts,  a  cheerful  belief  in  pseudo-originality  which  ignores 
the  achievements  of  the  past,  and  erratic  conduct  free  from 
coordination  by  verification,  and  from  automatic  regulation. 
We  are  almost  afraid  of  the  word  "  drill  "  ;  to  that  extent  are 
we  open  to  the  criticisms  of  some  of  the  materialists  of  our 
world,  that  the  schools  simply  "  amuse  "  the  children.  Facts, 
as  well  as  habits  of  all  kinds,  must  be  present  in  the  child's 
mind  if  he  is  to  make  any  progress  in  independent  work,  and 
this  is  only  accompUshed  by  memorizing,  and  often  by  drill. 
This  does  not  mean  that  the  kind  of  memory  appealed  to,  the 
material  that  has  been  selected  for  memorization,  or  the 
methods  used  have  been  of  the  best,  or  that  they  should  be 
adopted. 

Changes  in  all  three  of  these  directions  are  needed  in 
accord  with  experimental  and  child  psychology.  Logical 
and  desultory  memory  need  to  be  assigned  their  proper  spheres, 
and  memory  of  meanings  and  relationships  should  receive 
recognition  as  well  as  rote  memory.     The  material  must  be 


Memory  147 

chosen  in  the  light  of  the  results  of  the  transfer  of  training, 
and  of  the  present  needs  of  the  child  as  well  as  the  ultimate 
aim  of  education ;  the  methods  used  must  take  into  account 
the  relation  between  memory  and  thinking,  and  the  instincts 
and  interests  of  children  of  various  ages.  Above  all  they 
need  to  have  aroused  in  them  a  desire  to  improve  in  various 
^kinds  of  memory,  and  to  be  given  standards  by  means  of 
which  such  improvement  is  to  be  judged.  The  inadequacies 
and  inaccuracies  of  children's  memories  have  been  shown  all 
through  this  chapter,  and  what  they  need  is  not  less  memory 
training,  but  more  of  a  different,  and  more  effective  kind. 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  Given  a  musical  composition  memorized  in  childhood,  one  in 
the  teens,  one  in  the  early  twenties,  which  is  likely  to  be  most 
easily  revived  in  the  thirties  ?    Why  ? 

2.  Supposing  the  methods  taken  to  memorize  werfe  equally 
good  in  each  case,  who  would  take  longer  (or  require  more  repeti- 
tions), a  nine-year-old  or  an  adult,  to  fixate:  (a)  the  spelling  of  a 
word  in  a  foreign  language,  (b)  a  piece  of  music,  (c)  a  prose  para- 
graph of  interest?    Why? 

3.  Of  a  class  of  twenty-six  fifth-grade  children,  after  looking 
at  a  list  of  words  during  ten  minutes  that  they  were  visible  on 
the  blackboard,  writing  each  twice,  hearing  each  pronounced  and 
spelled  anywhere  from  7  to  15  times,  nine  made  one  or  more  errors 
during  a  written  test.  What  does  this  suggest  as  to  (a)  any  risk 
of  overlearning  ?  (b)  probable  difference  with  twenty-six  adults  ? 
(c)  methods  of  memorizing  spelling  ? 

4.  What  facts  from  the  psychology  of  children's  memorie:^, 
explain  why  grammar  is  a  difficult  study  for  most  of  them  ? 

5.  Suggest  several  reasons  for  the  ability  of  some  people  to 
memorize  quickly. 

6.  What  are  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  "six  weeks 
in  astronomy"  for  a  first-year  high-school  science  course? 

7.  Illustrate  the  use  of  rhythm  in  helping  to  fix  facts  for  chil- 
dren. 


N 


148  Psychology  of  Childhood 

8.   Illustrate  the  method  of  recall  in  connection  with  memorizing 
{a)  a  foreign  vocabulary, 
{b)  a  piece  of  prose, 

(c)  formulae  in  trigonometry,  algebra,  or  chemistry, 
id)  the  substance  of  a  dozen  pages  of  a  history  textbook. 

References  for  Reading 

Colvin,  The  Learning  Process,  ch.  11. 

Rusk,  Introduction  to  Experimental  Education,  ch.  7. 

Whipple,  Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests,  pp.  356-403. 


CHAPTER  IX 

IMAGINATION 

ORIGINAL  BASIS  OF  IMAGINATION.  —  The  origi- 
nal roots  of  imagination  are  to  be  found  in  the  wealth  of 
fineness  of  organization  of  secondary  connections,  although 
richness  of  the  perceptual  associations  is  necessary  as  a 
foundation.  Free  mental  images  depend,  primarily,  on  the 
development  of  percepts,  and  these  in  turn  upon  the  inter- 
action of  the  various  sense  departments  with  their  immediate 
association-connections.  The  secondary  connections  allow 
for  the  recall  of  the  percept  in  some  of  its  associative  setting 
from  within,  and  this  is  reproductive  imagination,  or  the 
memory  image.  This  is  probably  as  far  as  animals  ever  get 
in  their  imaginings,  and,  even  on  this  level,  being  deficient 
both  in  wealth  and  activity  of  secondary  connections,  they 
are  far  below  man.  Productive  imagination  depends  upon 
the  fact  that  because  of  this  fineness  of  organization,  because 
of  the  multitude  of  neurones  involved  in  any  and  every  mental 
state,  the  action  may  be  concerned  with  elements  and  parts, 
and  not  with  the  state  as  a  whole.  Because  of  this  "  hair 
trigger  "  organization  one  element  in  a  situation  may  break 
away  from  the  others  and  build  up  its  own  content,  giving  a 
constructive  image  or  images  of  the  imagination.  One  other 
factor  of  original  nature  enters,  and  that  is  the  satisfyingness 
of  the  activity  of  these  secondary  connections.  The  power 
of  mental  control  is  in  itself  a  pleasure ;  and  the  mere  flow  of 
images,  coming  spontaneously  as  they  often  do,  is  a  satisfac- 
tion. Given  the  nervous  equipment  necessary  for  numerous 
clear  percepts,  the  power  of  imagination  of  any  kind  depends 

149 


150  Psychology  of  Childhood 

primarily  on  the  type  of  the  organization  among  these  higher 
centers;  a  defect  in  wealth  of  connections,  or  in  delicacy  of 
connections,  or  in  the  satisfyingness  of  activity  on  this  level 
will  result  in  a  limited  power  of  imagination.  So  far  as  the 
possibility  of  training  goes,  there  is  a  wide  field  for  endeavor  in 
stimulating  and  directing ;  but,  as  in  the  case  of  memory,  a  fer- 
tile or  vivid  imagination  is  a  function  of  the  nervous  system. 
DIFFERENCES  BETWEEN  CHILDREN  AND  ADULTS. 
—  The  difference  between  adults  and  children  in  imagination 
may  be  discussed  under  three  heads :  differences 
children  in  kind  of  images,  differences  in  vividness  of  images, 
differ  from  ^j^^  differences  in  number  of  images. 
the  kind  0}  In  kind  of  images  used.  Children  visualize 
hSvef"^  wore. —  It  is  probable  that  in  childhood  the  pro- 
portion of  visual  images  is  greater  than  at  any 
other  time.  This  fact,  however,  which  used  to  be  considered 
of  great  practical  importance,  is  of  little  value,  and  this  for 
two  reasons:  first,  experimental  psychology  has  shown  that 

/  the  type  of  image  depends  not  on  the  individual, /but  on  the 
material,  on  the  extent  to  which  purpose  is  involved,  and  on 
the  presence  of  difficulties.  An  individual  cannot  be  classed 
as  being  of  the  visual  type,  for  instance,  for  the  reason  that 
though  when  imagining  people  he  may  visualize,  when  his 
images  deal  with  words  they  may  be  auditory-motor,  when 
flowers  are  the  subject  they  may  be  olfactory.  Likewise, 
though  in  passive  imagery  the  visual  type  may  predominate, 
in  active  imagery  some  other  type  may  take  the  lead.  The 
old  idea  that  people  are  divided  rather  distinctly  into  "  types  " 
is  being  replaced  by  the  opinion  that  individuals  of  a  fixed 

,.  type  are  rare,  whereas  those  of  the  mixed  type  are  the  most 
frequent.  This  is  as  true  of  children  as  it  is  of  adults,  even 
though  the  greater  proportion  of  visual  images  in  childhood 
remains  a  fact. 

The  second  reason  for  the  change  of  attitude  regarding  the 
importance  of  imaginative   types  is  found  in  the  fact  that 


I 


Imagination  151 

the  sense  department  through  which  the  material  is  received, 
and  that  in  terms  of  which  it  is  recalled,  need  not  be  the  same. 
Thus  one  may  depend  on  one's  eyes  for  the  clearest,  most 
effective  percepts,  and  yet  in  recalling  the  situation  use 
auditory  images,  as  in  memorizing  music.  Or  one  may  listen 
to  a  description  given  orally,  construct  visual  images  to  illus- 
trate it,  and  recall  in  terms  of  those  same  visual  images.  Or 
one  may  learn  by  making  movements,  as  in  dancing  or  produc- 
ing a  certain  speaking  or  singing  tone  when  visual  and  auditory 
percepts  play  a  secondary  part,  and  the  imagery  may  be  al- 
most entirely  lacking  so  far  as  terms  of  recall  are  concerned. 
The  old  advice  to  the  teacher,  to  discover  what  type  of  imagery 
a  child  used  in  his  thinking,  was  given  in  order  that  she  might 
present  perceptual  stimuU  in  corresponding  terms ;  but  since 
the  percept  and  image  need  not  so  correspond,  the  reason  for 
the  advice  does  not  hold.  She  no  longer  must  present  visual 
stimuli  for  those  who  use  visual  images,  nor  auditory  percepts 
for  those  who  use  auditory  imagery,  and  so  on.  What  is 
important,  however,  is  that  a  sufficient  number  of  varied 
perceptual  appeals  be  made,  with  strict  attention  on  the  part 
of  the  learner,  so  that  the  memory  may  be  good  and  the  re- 
sponse accurate.  So  far  as  the  imagery  is  concerned  it  may  be 
present  or  not,  be  vivid  more  or  less,  may  correspond  with  or 
differ  from  the  percept  in  kind  ;  it  makes  very  Httle  difference 
so  long  as  the  results  reached  by  the  child  are  correct.  The 
presence  of  one  or  another  type  may  be  of  interest  in  theoretical 
psychology,  but  has  no  practical  bearing  on  the  kind  of  per- 
ceptual presentation  used  by  the  teacher  for  a  whole  class. 
Occasionally  the  tendency  to  a  mistake  may  be  traced  to  the 
form  of  imagery  a  child  has  employed  ;  for  instance,  a  spelling 
confusion  such  as  "  proceed  "  with  "  precede  "  is  probably 
due  to  a  lack  of  visual  imagery,  and  a  contraction  such  as 
"  adaption  "  for  **  adaptation  "  to  a  lack  of  auditory  imagery. 
Children  use  concrete  imagery  more.  —  Another  difference 
between  children  and  adults,  one  which  is  of  much  more 


152  Psychology  of  Childhood 

importance,  is  that  between  the  object  and  word  type  of 
imagery.  Experiments  seem  to  prove  that  children  tend  to 
^     ,  .        think  in  terms  of  objects,  whereas  adults  are  more 

Do  adults  or    .      ,.       ,  .  '  i  m  i      i        i  i         r 

children  use  mclmed  to  use  words.  lo  a  child  the  thought  of 
rnore  verbal  ^  tree  or  a  house  or  a  book  is  a  picture  of  the  object ; 
im  gery  ^^^  thought  of  the  Pilgrims'  Chorus  or  E-fiat  is 
the  melody  or  the  note.  To  an  adult,  the  thought  of  any  of 
these  is  more  likely  to  occur  in  terms  of  words,  —  the  actual 
object  itself  not  appearing  in  consciousness.  The  value  of 
the  verbal  images  as  opposed  to  the  object  images  from  the 
standpoint  of  economy  of  time  and  energy,  of  definiteness 
and  accuracy,  and  of  retention,  has  been  demonstrated  in 
all  fields.  Of  course,  it  is  the  only  type  of  image  available 
in  dealing  with  abstract  subjects;  and  its  efficiency  in  con- 
structive work,  even  in  the  arts  and  literature,  has  been 
testified  to  by  workers  in  each  of  these  fields. 

Training  in  verbal  imagery.  —  It  would  seem,  then,  the 
business  of  teachers  to  replace  the  less  effectual  object-image 
of  children  by  the  much  more  useful  word-image.  But 
teachers  are  prone  to  object  to  hurrying  this  process  on  the 
ground  that  the  object-image  is  necessarily  fundamental,  and 
there  is  danger  that  the  children  will  get  words  without  con- 
tent. In  the  first  place,  it  has  yet  to  be  proved  that  the 
object-image  is  necessarily  fundamental;  e.g.  smell  and 
temperature  images  are  notably  rare;  in  the  second  place, 
the  word-image  should  get  its  content  not  from  the  inaccurate, 
unreliable  object-image,  but  from  direct  perceptual  experi- 
ence. The  word  *'  horse  "  in  a  child's  thought  has  meaning 
in  proportion  as  it  has  been  directly  connected  with  sensory 
experiences  of  the  object,  not  through  the  mediation  of  an 
object-image  of  the  animal.  To  use  object  images  only  is 
the  mark  of  an  immature  mind.  They  may  add  a  richness  of 
color  in  certain  fields  of  appreciation,  and  there  they  should 
be  called  into  play ;  but  in  the  field  of  thought  they  should 
be  replaced  as  quickly  as  possible  by  verbal  images.     This 


Imagination  153 

practice  would  mean  two  things:  a  broadening  of  sense 
experience  and  a  direct  connection  of  words  with  it,  and 
more  extended  and  definite  training  in  thinking  in  terms  of 
language.  Children's  ability  to  think  is  conditioned  by  their 
power  to  use  verbal  images,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  this  power 
comes  slowly.  Age  helps,  but  training  can  do  much  to  give 
meaning  to  the  word  images,  increase  the  thinking  vocabulary, 
and  give  control  to  the  manipulation  of  these  images. 

In  connection  with  the  extended  use  by  adults  of  words 
and  symbols  for  all  sorts  of  concrete  experiences  of  varying 
degrees  of  complexity  and  richness,  has  arisen  the  question 
as  to  whether  the  mind  in  its  thinking  does  not  go  one  step 
further,  and  think  without  using  images,  at  least  without  using 
anything  that  could  be  classed  under  the  usual  term  "  image." 
This  controversy  over  "  imageless  thought "  has  aroused  hot 
discussions,  and  no  one  opinion  has  been  accepted  by  large 
numbers.  However,  from  the  standpoint  of  child  psychology 
the  dispute  offers  some  practical  suggestions.  The  well- 
trained  mind  not  only  replaces  object  by  verbal  images,  but 
gets  on  with  a  minimum  of  these.  Kinaesthetic  forms,  such 
as  a  mental  gesture  with  the  hands,  or  a  lifting  of  the  eye- 
brows may  convey  meanings  such  as  clarification  or  doubtful 
hesitancy.  Even  without  these,  the  feeling  of  being  at- 
tracted to,  or  repelled  from  a  certain  course  of  action  or  line 
of  thought,  with  mere  fleeting  snatches  of  phrases,  may  be 
found  to  play  a  large  part  in  logical  thinking. 

Now  this  sort  of  thinking  is  worth  while  for  the  same 
reason  that  the  word-image  is  more  worth  while  than  the 
object-image ;  i.e.  it  is  economical.  If  so,  it  is  the  teacher's 
duty  to  develop  more  of  this  type  of  wordless  thinking  in 
children.  An  analogous  t3^e  of  training  is  done  in  connec- 
tion with  perception,  when  one  characteristic  is  enough  to 
arouse  the  full  percept,  and  when  children  are  asked  to 
"  skim  "  a  paragraph  or  a  book,  and  get  the  meaning.  They 
are  asked  by  the  help  of  a  few  of  the  important  words,  a  feel- 


154  Psychology  of  Childhood 

ing  of  the  drift  of  the  paragraph,  to  get  the  essentials  without 
wasting  the  time  to  get  a  clear  percept  of  all  the  words.  In 
thinking  we  need  more  of  the  same  kind  of  training,  and  it 
can  be  done  only  by  limiting  the  time  allowed  and  insisting 
on  some  kind  of  answer.  To  give  children  several  alterna- 
tives and  demand  a  choice  with  reasons  almost  immediately 
forces  them,  simply  by  the  exigencies  of  the  case,  to  do  think- 
ing of  the  type  we  have  been  considering.  With  the  facts 
in  hand  in  history,  to  prophesy  what  the  ruler,  or  the  congress, 
or  the  inventor  did,  without  being  given  time  to  work  out  the 
details  reduces  the  verbal  images  used  to  mere  schema.  In 
arithmetic,  the  plan  followed  by  good  teachers  of  asking  the 
children  to  estimate  or  "  guess  "  the  answer  to  the  problem 
before  solving  it  gives  training  along  this  same  line.  This 
is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  value  of  this  method  from  the 
standpoint  of  training  children  to  think ;  but  any  thoughtful 
person  must  realize  that  not  only  are  the  children  getting 
training  in  the  use  of  efficient  tools,  but  in  the  process  of 
thinking  also.  Of  course,  in  all  this  process,  care  must  be 
taken  that  it  is  true  thinking,  and  not  *'  guessing  "  in  the 
ordinary  use  of  the  term  that  is  taking  place.  If,  however, 
children  are  required  to  abide  by  the  choice  they  have  made, 
or  to  find  out  what  did  actually  happen,  or  to  check  up  the 
correct  answer  with  their  prophecy,  and  then  be  asked  for  a 
criticism  of  this  forecast,  the  work  will  be  placed  on  a  safe 
basis,  and  random,  unsupported  guessing  will  be  abandoned. 
Characteristics  of  dijfferent  periods.  —  A  comparison  between 
adults  and  children  as  to  the  difference  between  them  in  re- 
productive  and  productive  imagery  does  not  give 
imagination  such  definite  conclusions.  Without  doubt,  the 
hange  with  reproductive  is  the  fundamental  and  earlier  type. 
There  is  little  possibility  that  children  under  three 
can  use  any  but  this  kind,  and  even  after  that  age  the  plays 
of  the  kindergarten  and  primary  school  child  are  largely 
reproductive  and  imitative.    However,  from  about  three  to 


c 
age 


Imagination  155 

seven  or  eight  there  are  definite  evidences  of  creative  imagina- 
tion. It  is  characterized  by  the  fairy-tale  element,  its  dis- 
regard of  the  possible.  It  is  fantastic,  and  the  flights  of 
fancy  in  which  children  of  this  age  indulge  are  comparable 
only  to  the  night  dreams  of  adults.  As  they  grow  older, 
between  ten  and  thirteen  perhaps,  most  children  become  more 
matter  of  fact.  Their  productive  imagery  loses  its  fanciful 
characteristics  and  becomes  more  bound  by  the  laws  of  the 
possible.  The  imagery  of  children  of  this  age  is  more  practi- 
cal, of  value  as  it  accomplishes  results;  it  still  has  a  large 
share  in  their  plays,  but  it  tends  to  be  more  purposeful.  It 
is  objective  rather  than  subjective,  realistic  rather  than 
fanciful.  During  adolescence,  a  new  element  is  added  in 
the  intensity  of  the  emotional  life  of  that  period.  The 
imagery  now  takes  on  many  of  the  characteristics  of  the  first 
period,  though  the  content  of  the  imagery  is  different ;  it  is  no 
longer  of  the  fairy-tale  type,  but  has  to  do  with  the  youths' 
and  maidens'  own  doings,  ambitions,  accomplishments,  and 
plans.  It  is  highly  subjective,  for  the  adolescents  always 
hold  the  center  of  the  stage  in  their  dreams.  The  element  of 
fancy,  and  the  joy  in  the  imagery  for  its  own  sake  make  it 
like  the  early  period  rather  than  the  intermediate  one,  but 
it  may  be  termed  idealistic,  since  persons  and  human  relation- 
ships are  of  prime  concern  rather  than  mere  miraculous  oc- 
currences. This  is  preeminently  the  age  for  daydreaming. 
True,  it  appears  earlier,  especially  with  sensitive,  lonely  chil- 
dren, but  at  this  age  almost  all  indulge  in  it.  Dr.  Snuth/s 
investigation  in  the  '*  Psychology  of  Day-Dreams  "  empha- 
sizes the  frequency  and  the  absorbing  power  of  this  type  of 
mental  life.  As  the  period  of  adolescence  passes,  the  swing 
of  the  pendulum  is  again  away  from  the  fanciful,  emotional 
type  of  imagination  to  the  practical.  The  adolescent  type  now 
passes  altogether  with  most  people,  though  some  individuals 
never  grow  away  from  it  at  all ;  yet  the  average  adult  is  so 
pressed  upon  by  the  demands  of  a  practical  world  that  his 


156  Psychology  of  Childhood 

imagery,  to  fill  his  need,  must  measure  up  to  the  requirements 
of  Ufe. 

Value  of  productive  imagery.  —  No  more  need  be  said 

at  this  time  of  the  value  of  the  reproductive  image.     It  is 

fundamental,  and  its  function  has  already  been 

tive  imagery  discussed  in  Connection  with  memory.     The  pro- 

intrinsicaiiy    ductive  type,  however,  offers  a  new  element  of  tha 

valuable?  ^         ^    -^  \  t,  r    v  •        ui 

utmost  importance.  By  means  of  it  one  is  able 
to  invent  marvels  in  machinery,  or  aeroplanes,  or  costumes ; 
one  may  revolutionize  the  world  of  philosophy,  or  find  the 
cure  for  all  social  ills ;  one  may  control  the  forces  of  nature 
or  convert  nations,  —  one  creates  new  worlds.  All  thinking, 
all  invention,  all  progress  depends  on  this  power  of  recon- 
structing the  old  into  a  new  thing.  It  is  then  one  of  the 
most  precious  abihties  of  the  human  race,  and  should  be 
developed  and  fostered  by  all  the  means  at  the  command  of 
education.  Upon  the  wealth  and  fertility  of  the  imaginative 
power  man  must  depend  for  all  the  suggestions  that  will 
make  this  world  other  than  it  is. 

One  of  the  greatest  dangers  of  the  present  customs  in 
education  is  that  this  constructive  and  creative  imagination 
What  fields  ^^^^  ^^  killed  by  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  in 
offer  train-  the  demand  for  the  reproductive.  If  it  is  to  reach 
^productive  '^^^  highest  development,  it  must  be  given  oppor- 
irnagina-       tunity  to  develop  and  material  to  feed  upon,  it  must 

be  stimulated  and  directed  just  as  is  any  other 
faculty.  The  policy  of  ignoring  it  or  repressing  it  will  not 
produce  fruitful  results.  In  the  period  from  four  to  eight, 
the  stories,  fairy  tales,  and  myths  offer  material  for  chil- 
dren's creative  imagination  to  work  on.  They  fill  a  very 
definite  need  of  children's  nature  at  this  time,  and  should 
certainly  be  given  them.  The  lack  of  knowledge  of  physical 
laws  and  of  the  ways  of  the  world,  and  the  tendency  towards 
animism  make  the  material  offered  by  the  myth  and  fairy 
tale  not  only  acceptable,  but  necessary  for  a   full   growth. 


Imagination  157 

At  no  other  time  in  life  will  this  material  be  as  vital  or  as 
satisfying  as  at  this  period.  The  dangers  of  overindulging 
the  fancy  will  largely  be  corrected  by  the  training  in  sense 
perception  and  observation  that  comes  at  this  time.  Not 
only  should  they  be  given  the  material  to  feed  the  imagina- 
tion, but  the  tendency  to  construct  which  is  present  should 
be  made  use  of.  Children  of  seven  or  eight  are  very  willing 
to  tell  stories  drawn  from  their  imaginations,  and  this  will- 
ingness should  be  encouraged.  Not  only  is  opportunity 
offered  to  develop  productive  thinking  in  the  realm  of  fancy, 
but  the  opportunities  for  the  training  in  the  use  of  words  and 
real  language  in  general  are  great. 

During  the  next  few  years,  when  in  school  the  emphasis 
is  being  laid  on  facts,  when  children  in  their  own  development 
are  passing  through  a  period  of  readjustment,  when  memory 
power  is  almost  at  its  maximum  and  the  suggestibiHty  is  less 
than  before,  it  comes  about  that  the  fanciful  element  is  re- 
placed by  a  more  practical  one.  This  is  the  time  to  encourage 
constructive  imagination  in  connection  with  handwork 
projects,  or  geography;  here  is  the  opportunity  to  teach 
simple  geometry,  art  structure,  and  physics.  Children  are 
willing  now  to  plan  and  then  test  their  plans  by  putting  them 
into  execution.  Earlier,  they  had  neither  the  power  nor  the 
patience ;  later  their  imaginings  are  of  such  a  character  that 
this  sort  of  thing  is  almost  impossible.  Their  reading  should 
be  wide  enough  to  include  many  models  for  their  continued 
.dramatic  play.  Children  of  ten  to  twelve  who  do  not  have 
such  material  as  the  tale  of  Robin  Hood,  Ivanhoe,  the  Ar- 
thurian legends,  experiences  of  pioneers  and  explorers,  ballads 
and  all  sorts  of  historical  adventures  and  scenes  to  draw  from 
as  well  as  the  glories  of  the  circus,  the  mysteries  of  the  ghost 
tale,  the  interests  of  the  simple  industries  around  them,  are 
much  to  be  pitied. 

Possible  dangers  in  adolescent  period.  —  The  period 
of  adolescence  is  the  most  critical  in  its  possibilities  and,  at 


158  Psychology  of  Childhood 

the  same  time,  the  most  difficult  to  handle.  The  imaginings' 
of  adolescents  are  more  absorbing,  take  more  thought  and 
energy  than  at  any  other  time,  and  may  become  more  vivid 
to  them  than  the  real  environment  in  which  they  are  Hving. 
The  importance  of  getting  the  practical,  constructive  imagina- 
tion started  well  in  the  period  just  preceding  is  partly  due  to 
the  fact  that  now  it  may  continue  to  be  used  to  drain  off  some 
of  the  energy  which  might  be  used  in  morbid  Hues.  Kept 
healthy  by  plenty  of  outside  interests,  physical  exercise, 
companionship,  and  the  satisfying  of  questions  that  the 
physical  development  of  the  period  must  bring  into  the  fore- 
ground of  consciousness,  the  imagination  of  this  time  is  the 
motive  force  of  ideals,  is  the  root  of  appreciation  of  the 
beautiful  in  art,  music,  and  literature.  But  it  is  also  true 
that  because  of  the  strength  of  the  sex  instinct,  there  is  a 
tendency  for  it  to  be  directed  into  morbid  channels  instead  of 
developing  along  healthful  lines.  *'  As  a  man  thinketh,  so 
is  he  "  is  never  more  true  than  at  this  period.  Imagination 
allowed  to  run  riot  in  unknown  or  forbidden  channels  first 
stimulates  desire,  and  later  incites  to  action.  It  is  all-im- 
portant here,  as  earlier,  that  the  material  upon  which  the 
imagination  feeds  should  be  wholesome  and  suitable.  The 
books  read  in  the  teens  are  an  immeasurable  force  in  directing 
the  imagination.  It  is  useless  and  wasteful  to  try  to  starve 
it  out  by  giving  only  material  of  scientific  character.  Ado- 
lescents should  have  romance,  love  stories,  adventure,  stories 
of  reconstruction,  and  poetry,  but  they  should  all  be  good,  — 
good  not  from  the  standpoint  of  the  need  of  the  adult,  but 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  need  of  the  adolescent.  The 
danger  in  this  age  of  leading  two  lives,  the  outside  one  with 
which  parents  and  teachers  are  acquainted,  and  a  very 
different  inside  one,  —  not  necessarily  bad,  but  egotistic, 
emotional,  and  imaginative,  —  is  increased  by  the  sensitive- 
ness of  adolescents,  and  their  fear  of  being  laughed  at  if  they 
give  the  keys  of  this  inner  life  to  any  adult.     In  the  sympathy 


Imagination  159 

nd  understanding  of  a  wise  adult,  however,  lies  safety  for 
he  development  of  the  unstable,  intense,  imaginative,  emo- 
ional  life  of  the  teens.  Once  inside  the  doors  of  this  reserve, 
he  power  of  the  trusted  adult  to  mold  and  direct  is  almost 
[mitless.  So  very  Uttle  is  on  record  of  the  imaginative  life 
f  this  period  that  the  sympathetic  approach  must  be  largely 
n  individual  matter.  The  aim  must  be  to  keep  alive  in 
dolescents  the  behef  in  their  own  power,  while  shifting  the 
imeHght  from  their  own  doings  to  that  of  others;  to  take 
he  imaginings  from  the  field  of  fancy  and  build  them  into 
deals ;  to  bring  about  a  balance  between  the  inside  life  and 
he  life  of  conduct ;  and  at  the  same  time  to  retain  much  of 
he  fertility  and  power  of  the  imagination  for  use  in  the  play- 
ime  of  maturity. 

Differences  in  vividness  of  imagery.       Resulting  confusions. 
—  Not  only  do  children  and  adults  differ  in  the  kind  of  imagery 
vhich  they  use,  but  also  in  the  vividness  of  that 
magery.     The  images  of  children  tend  to  be  more  children 
/ivid,  more  intense,  than  those  of  adults.     So  true  '^^^^Jj^P^^ 

,  . '  .  .         .  1  1  •  r  "    r  T     1      odults  in  the 

this  that  there  is  a  time  m  the  mental  life  of  little  vividness 
:hildren  when  it  is  difficult,  and  sometimes  impos-  ?-^  ''^^''', 

.,  -  ,...11  images? 

ible  for  them  to  distinguish  between  memory 
mages  and  the  images  of  imagination.  In  some  children  the 
:onfusion  goes  even  further,  and  they  cannot  distinguish 
Detween  percepts  and  images.  The  possibility  of  this  latter 
:onfusion  has  been  very  hard  for  adults  to  beHeve,  but  since 
the  experiments  on  imagination  made  under  Titchener's 
direction  when  adults  mistook  percepts  for  images,  more 
credence  has  been  given  to  this  fact  in  child  psychology. 
Both  types  of  confusion  occur  when  children  are  young, 
generally  between  three  and  six  years  of  age,  and  can  be  ex- 
plained on  physiological  grounds.  The  chief  difference  be- 
tween all  three  of  these  mental  states  is  a  difference  in  the 
kind  and  in  the  number  of  associations  with  each.  In  the 
early  years  children  have  few  associations  with  any  of  them, 


i6o  Psychology  of  Childhood 

and  consequently  are  likely  to  mistake  any  one  of  them  for 
either  of  the  others.  They  lack  definite  criteria  by  which 
to  judge  either  the  actuality  of  occurrences  or  the  possibility 
of  their  fancies ;  moreover,  their  proneness  to  illusory  errors, 
their  extreme  credulity,  their  ready  suggestibiHty,  combined 
with  their  newly  discovered  power  of  *'  being  a  cause," 
mentally  make,  in  very  truth,  the  "  wish  the  father  to  the 
thought,"  i.e,  the  assertion  the  generator  of  belief  in  the  fact. 
When  through  experience  children  get  accustomed  to  find 
certain  sorts  of  sensory  elements  present  with  their  percept 
of,  say,  a  dog,  they  will  not  so  readily  mistake  an  image, 
which  lacks  these  elements,  for  a  percept.  Further,  the 
knowledge  of  possibiUties  which  comes  with  experience  will 
help  to  differentiate  these  several  mental  states.  For  in- 
stance, when  a  child  learns,  not  by  mere  telling  but  by  lack 
of  sensory  elements,  that  lions  do  not  live  under  little  boys' 
beds,  the  feeling-of-lion-under-the-bed  will  be  much  less  real, 
much  more  readily  recognized  as  an  image  of  the  productive 
type. 

Lies.  —  In  young  children  these  confusions  may  result  in 
conduct  which,  while  normal,  is  certainly  questionable.     One 

consequence  is  seen  in  the  so-called  '^  white  lies," 
encies  in  the  kind  of  falsification  which  makes  children  tell 
children  are  guch  big  tales  of  what  happened  in  school,  on  the 
fusion  of  street,  at  play,  at  home.  This  has  been  already 
percepts,  spoken  of  in  connection  with  the  lack  of  accuracy 
images,  and  in  children's  reports.  Looking  back  on  an  imper- 
productive     fectly  observed  perceptual  experience  we  all  tend 

to  mix  our  suppositions  of  what  occurred  with  what 
actually  took  place.  With  retelling,  the  story  grows,  par- 
ticularly in  the  direction  of  the  things  we  would  like  to 
have  had  happen.  Little  children  do  all  this  and  more; 
they  can  escape  contemplating  any  disagreeable  part  of 
the  recollection  by  *'  pretending "  it  didn't  happen,  or 
they  can  intensify  the  excitement  by  magnifying  it.     Their 


Imagination  i6i 

preference,  like  the  veritable  fairy  wand,  so  changes  the  out- 
lines of  events  and  emotions,  so  colors  them  that  the  disguise 
is  complete  for  them  and  all  but  impenetrable  for  the  adult. 
Thus,  as  seven-year-old  D —  was  walking  along  a  road  bor- 
dered by  a  fenced  pasture,  a  mild-mannered  cow  lifted  her 
head  and  looked  at  the  child,  causing  a  little  trepidation. 
D —  first  told  of  several  cows  that  came  to  the  fence,  later 
that  they  followed  her  the  length  of  the  fence  ''  roaring," 
later  that  a  bull  and  lots  of  cows  ran  after  her  while  she  threw 
stones  at  them,  still  later  that  she  had  been  in  the  field,  was 
chased  by  a  bull  and  at  least  fifty  cows  till  she  escaped  over 
the  fence  and  routed  them  by  pelting  with  large  stones. 

It  should  be  emphasized  again  that  children  are  not  de- 
liberately telling  Hes,  they  either  really  think  thus  and  so 
happened,  or  dwell  so  much  on  what  they  wish  had  occurred 
that  there  comes  to  be  no  difference  in  their  minds  between 
the  world  of  fact  and  the  world  of  make-beheve.  After  all, 
this  realm  of  "  have  it  as  you  wish,"  this  world  of  play  is  so 
much  the  more  important  and  vital  to  little  children  that  why 
should  they  not  give  the  adult  the  benefit  of  it  when  he  seems 
interested  and  begins  asking  questions?  Scolding  or  punish- 
ing for  this  kind  of  lying  is  unfair  to  the  children  and  does  not 
get  at  the  root  of  the  difficulty.  They  must  be  taught  the 
difference  between  the  real  and  the  fancied  without  detract- 
ing from  the  charm  of  the  latter.  Of  course,  the  training 
which  is  taking  place  at  this  time  in  perception  will  help  along 
this  line.  Requiring  children  to  check  up  their  stories  by  the 
actual  facts  when  this  is  possible  is  the  logical  way  to  bring 
home  to  tjiem  the  difference.  One  obstacle  in  clearing  up 
this  confusion  lies  in  the  fact  that  so  little  opportunity  is 
given  children  of  using  their  constructive  imagination  under 
supervision,  so  that  they  do  not  grow  accustomed  to  labeling 
one  kind  of  thing  true,  and  another  false.  If  parents  and 
teachers  would  ask  children  to  tell  make-beheve  stories  and 
happenings,  and  then  to  tell  "  true  "  ones,  and  do  the  same 


1 62  Psychology  of  Childhood 

themselves,  not  only  would  there  be  built  up  in  the  children's 
minds  standards  by  means  of  which  they  could  judge  the  real 
and  the  make-believe,  but  they  would  also  be  having  ex- 
perience in  judging  between  the  two.  Added  to  this  they 
would  be  having  the  joy  of  telling  a  big  story  and  seeing  the 
amazement  of  the  hearers ;  —  both  are  legitimate  delights  cf 
childhood  which,  because  of  the  matter-of-fact  point  of  view 
of  the  adult,  are  not  indulged  enough.  The  romancing  of 
little  children  cannot  be  ignored  because  it  may  become  a 
habit  and  continue  when  the  original  cause  of  it  has  passed ; 
on  the  other  hand,  children  cannot  be  held  accountable  for  a 
confusion,  the  necessary  accompaniment  of  a  certain  stage 
of  growth,  which  will  gradually  disappear  as  the  mental  states 
concerned  become  properly  differentiated. 

Night  fears.  —  Another  result  of  the  confusion  between 
percepts  and  images  is  seen  in  many  of  the  night  fears  of 
young  children.  Fears  have  already  been  discussed,  but  it 
must  be  emphasized  at  this  point  that  many  of  these  night 
fears  are  due  to  the  confusion  now  described.  They  may 
readily  believe  that  there  is  a  giant  in  the  corner  of  the  room,  or 
that  the  witch  on  her  broomstick  is  coming  in  at  the  window. 
Adults  little  know  the  terrors  children  suffer,  especially  sensi- 
tive, imaginative  children.  If  they  would  stop  to  consider 
how  they  would  feel,  especially  in  the  dark,  if  they  could  not 
distinguish  between  the  world  of  fact  and  of  fancy,  they 
would  have  a  clearer  conception  of  what  children  must  feel. 
One  way  to  prevent  this  type  of  fear  is  not  to  allow  children 
to  be  frightened.  Once  thoroughly  alarmed,  and  the  child 
;will  recall  and  recall  the  emotion  in  connection  with  all  sorts 
of  things.  The  need  of  avoiding  material  which  could  serve 
as  a  center  for  the  emotion  is  evident.  Children  should  not 
be  allowed  to  hear  stories  or  see  moving  pictures  which  have 
present  any  element  of  the  horrible,  or  fear-inspiring.  In 
this  connection  it  must  be  rem.embered  that  what  is  *'  the 
horrible  "  to  a  child  is  not  that  which  is  horrible  to  the  adult 


Imagination  163 

because  of  a  difference  in  content ;  likewise  what  frightens  the 
child  when  it  is  recalled,  is  often  nothing  that  frightened  at 
the  time  of  telling,  or  may  be  nothing  frightful  in  itself.  _Tlie_ 
manner  of  telhng  the  story,  the  emotional  attitude  of  the 
teller  which  calls  out  the  same  emotional  response  in  the 
children,  is  often  more  important  than  the  mere  content  of  .. 
the  story.  It  is  a  great  temptation  to  the  good  story-teller 
to  use  her  power  so  that  her  Usteners  are  hanging  breathless 
and  sometimes  trembling  on  her  words.  It  seems  harmless 
enough,  the  children  respond  with  a  shriek  of  joy  as  the  story 
ends,  they  may  play  it  all  over  again  in  their  free  time ;  but 
at  night,  alone  in  the  dark,  what  was  thrilling  in  the  dayHght 
with  companions  about  may  become  a  source  of  exquisite 
terror.  These  facts  should  be  borne  in  mind  both  in  select- 
ing the  myths,  fairy  tales,  and  stories  which  children  hear, 
and  in  the  manner  of  telhng  them. 

Imaginary  companions.  —  Still  a  third  result  of  the  con- ' 
fusion  of  percepts  and  images  is  the  creation  of  imaginary 
companions.  The  presence  in  a  child's  life  of  imaginary 
companions  is  very  much  more  common  than  has  been  sup- 
posed. It  is  perhaps  the  continuation  of  the  animistic 
tendency,  only  now  it  is  an  image  that  is  endowed  with  life. 
These  companions  usually  appear  between  three  and  four 
years  of  age  or  even  earlier,  the  time  when  children  are  ex- 
periencing this  confusion  between  mental  states,  and  the 
time  when  they  are  becoming  acquainted  with  their  different 
selves.  It  is  usually  a  lonely  child  that  develops  these  play 
companions,  and  they  become  to  him  more  real  than  his 
living  playmates.  The  little  girl  who,  when  shopping  with 
her  mother,  began  to  cry  violently  and  could  not  be  comforted 
until  her  mother  discovered  that  she  had  sat  down  on  a  stool 
upon  which  the  child's  imaginary  companion  was  seated  so 
that  the  child  was  sure  she  was  killed,  is  an  illustration  of  how 
real  such  companions  are,  and  also  suggests  some  of  the 
difficulties  that  may  arise  if  this  sort  of  thing  is  carried  too 


164  Psychology  of  Childhood 

far.  Very  few  children  retain  these  after  eight  or  nine  years 
of  age,  as  they  gradually  fade  away  under  the  influence  of 
more  vital  companionship  with  other  children  who  are  con- 
genial. In  general  the  tendency  to  indulge  in  these  play- 
fellows is  harmless ;  however,  if  it  is  carried  to  an  extreme  by 
young  children  or  if  it  is  continued  up  into  adolescence,  harm 
may  result.  Children  who  play  continually  with  an  imaginary 
companion  lose  all  the  give  and  take  that  comes  with  living 
children;  they  get  no  training  in  considering  the  rights  of 
others,  nor  in  cooperation,  and  it  is  very  easy  to  form  the 
habit  of  shifting  the  blame  whenever  anything  goes  wrong  to 
the  shoulders  of  this  imaginary  companion.  All  of  this 
hinders  the  best  social  and  moral  development.  If  the  play- 
is.  continued  into  adolescence  there  is  danger  of  becoming 
reserved  and  morbid,  and  losing  the  perspective  as  to  real 
values. 

Differences  in  amount  of  imagery.  —  One  other  difference 
between  children  and  adults  in  their  images  is  a  natural  out- 
How  do  growth  of  the  differences  already  discussed,  and  that 
differ}wm  ^^  ^^^  differences  as  to  amount.  It  is  certainly 
adults  in  true  that  children  have  more  of  the  concrete  kind 
o/ima^es^^  of  imagery  than  adults,  and  the  probability  is  that 
they  have?  in  total  amount  they  excel  the  adult.  The  higher 
types  of  mental  states,  the  meanings,  which  are  so  important 
in  thinking,  are  later  in  development  than  the  image.  The 
adult's  thinking  is  full  of  feelings  of  relationship,  meanings, 
and  judgments,  whereas  that  of  the  Httle  child  is  made  up 
almost  entirely  of  images.  The  rich  flood  of  imagery  pos- 
sessed by  children  has  its  drawbacks.  One  cannot  get  very 
far  with  that  type  of  mental  stuff ;  the  other  more  subtle  and 
far-reaching  mental  states  must  be  developed. 

DRAMATIZATION.  —  Two  other  topics  connected  with 
the  imagination  have  practical  bearings  on  the  development  of 
children,  viz. :  dramatization  and  symbolism.  Dramatiza- 
tion is  the  working  out  by  the  child  of  his  constructive  images 


Imagination  165 

in  terms  of  action.    It  is  not  an  instinct,  but  is  part  of  the 
tendency  towards  general  physical  activity,  and  of  the  law,^ 
of  habit  whereby  ideas  that  have  been  connected 
with  actions  tend  to  result  in  actions.     That  it  is  ^e^v(due 
valuable  as  a  means  of  development  there  can  be  and  the  risk 
no  question,  but  that  there  are  dangers  connected  fation?'^^^' 
with  its  misuse  is  equally  clear.     Working  out  a  U^V 

constructive  image  in  terms  of  action  necessitates  a  clearing 
up  of  hazy  parts,  a  working  out  of  details,  thereby  making 
the  idea  more  clear  and  definite.  It  organizes  the  imagina- 
tion by  developing  a  perspective,  and  making  clear  the  need 
of  emphasizing  essentials.  It  helps  to  make  clear  the  differ- 
ence between  the  imagined  and  the  real.  It  adds  a  richness 
to  tlie  thought  content  by  its  arousal  of  an  emotional  back- 
ground. It  develops  cooperation,  initiative,  self-confidence, 
and  the  use  of  language,  and  is  an  aid  to  memory.  All  this, 
if  properly  used,  is  a  means  to  an  end.  But  too  often  the 
means  becomes  the  end.  The  teacher  wants  a  finished 
product,  and  therefore  the  planning  of  details  and  the  work  of 
interpretation  is  hers,  if  not  entirely,  at  least  so  much  so 
through  suggestion,  that  what  might  have  been  of  great 
developmental  value  becomes  a  trivial  performance  in  which 
an  inexcusable  amount  of  time  and  energy  is  wasted.  Be- 
cause its  true  function  has  been  lost  to  sight  and  presenta-  .«,«^ 
tion  has  become  an  end  in  itself,  the  children  who  do  it  best 
are  those  chosen  to  do  it,  instead  of  the  work  being  given  to 

those  who  need  the  development  in  any  of  the  above-men-  

tioned  ways.  It  should  also  be  remembered  that  the  very 
ease  with  which  the  emotional  element  is  aroused  by  drama- 
tization brings  with  it  a  danger.  An  emotion  aroused  by  the 
part  a  child  takes  may  react  unfavorably  on  his  character, 
or  he  may  form  the  habit  of  allowing  the  real  emotions,  whose 
function  is  to  inspire  conduct,  to  wear  themselves  out  in 
acting.  For  the  majority  of  children  these  are  not  grave 
dangers ;  but  if  the  dramatization  is  overdone,  for  the  highly 


i66  Psychology  of  Childhood 

emotional,  sensitive  child  who  has  a  tendency  to  act,  some 
such  effects  may  be  produced.  This  is  especially  true  if  the 
continual  urging  of  the  teacher  is  to  ''  throw  yourself  into 
your  part,"  "  lose  yourself  in  it."  To  be  used  effectively,  the 
teacher  must  keep  in  mind  both  the  function  of  dramatiza- 
tion in  the  whole  scheme  of  development,  and  the  nature  of 
the  children  with  whom  she  is  dealing. 

SYMBOLISM.  — It  has  been  customary  in  the  conserva- 
tive school  of  kindergartners  to  use  symbols  to  teach  great 
truths.  For  instance,  the  sphere  has  been  used  to  represent 
unity,  and  the  doctrine  has  been  that  the  child  in  playing 
with  the  ball  or  sphere  must  absorb  something  of  that  mean- 
ing. All  the  Froebelian  ''  Gifts  "  have  been  regarded  in  the 
same  way.  The  Mother-plays  symbolizing  great  truths 
must  have  effect  on  the  child  who  plays  them.  The  knight 
of  the  Middle  Ages  is  the  symbol  for  bravery,  and  in  playing 
the  plays  of  the  knight  the  child  is  supposed  to  get  an  ideal 
of  bravery,  something  with  meaning.  Religious  teaching 
is  full  of  examples  of  the  same  supposition.  This  whole 
discussion  of  imagination  should  show  that  such  teachings  are 
folly,  based  on  lack  of  understanding  of  the  development  of 
a  child's  mind.  ,  Symbols  are  used  only  after  direct  personal 
experience  of  the  thing  symboHzed,  not  before.  Children 
do  not  possess  abstract  truths,  nor  generalizations ;  how  then 
could  a  symbol  call  them  to  mind  or  stand  for  them?  They 
are  the  product  of  much  teaching  and  experience,  and  are 
characteristic  of  the  philosophical  adult  mind.  Even  those 
teachers  who  use  such  symbols  may  have  themselves  but  a 
faint  glimmering  of  what  the  abstractions  they  stand  for  really 
are.  The  parables  of  the  New  Testament  made  no  such 
mistake  in  their  appeal  to  the  hearers  as  many  a  zealous 
Sunday  School  teacher  does  to-day.  Xq.  use  something  out- 
side of  a  child's  experience,  something  strange  and  new,  in 
order  to  teach  an  unknown  truth  is  incomprehensible,  he  has 
content  for  neither.     Certainly  such  a  use  of  symbols  violates 


Imagination  167 

the  law  of  apperception.  Children  use  symbols  only  for  known 
experiences,  and  those  symbols  must  be  as  nearly  like  the 
thing  represented  as  possible;  that  is  all  that  is  possible  for 
the  child  mind  to  grasp.  This  does  not  at  all  mean  that  such 
material  and  plays  may  not  have  a  value ;  but  if  so,  that  does 
not  lie  in  their  power  to  teach  great  truths. 

That  imagination  is  valuable  is  evident,  but  all  kinds  are 
not  equally  valuable,  nor  valuable  for  the  same  purpose. 
The  schools  must  discriminate  and  cultivate  the  different 
types  at  their  proper  time,  and  in  their  proper  place.  The 
most  crying  need  is  for  greater  emphasis  on  constructive, 
verbal  imagination,  for  that  is  the  type  upon  which  thinking 
depends;  but  at  the  same  time,  individual  differences  must 
not  be  lost  sight  of,  and  a  capacity  for  rich,  concrete  imagery 
in  connection  with  art  and  literature  should  be  developed  for 
the  sake  of  its  appreciative  and  interpretative  value.  If  it  is 
true  that  '^  Imagination  has  the  power  to  alter  the  face  of  the 
world,  to  bridge  distance,  to  annihilate  time ;  like  an  alchemist, 
it  can  transmute,  refine,  transform ;  like  the  artist  it  is  skilful 
to  glorify  and  to  enrich.  On  the  moral  side  of  life,  it  knows 
how  to  comfort  and  encourage,  to  inspire  and  control,  to 
animate,  and  to  rejoice,"  then  every  child  in  our  schools 
needs  it  trained  and  developed  that  he  may  reap  these  rich 
benefits.  But  before  this  desired  end  can  be  reached,  teachers 
must  recognize  its  importance  for  life,  and  not  merely  for 
enjoyment,  and  devote  much  more  time  and  thought  to  plans 
for  its  development. 

Exercises 

1.  Collect  instances  of  children's  faulty  apperception  or  other 
mistakes  that  may  be  due  to  the  particular  form  of  imagery  em- 
ployed. 

2.  Recall  your  own  adolescent  daydreams.  Write  out  a  brief 
description.  How  do  they  illustrate  the  points  described  in  this 
chapter  ?  Were  they  much  influenced  by  books  you  read,  people 
you  met? 


1 68  Psychology  of  Childhood 

3.  Collect  illustrations  of  symbols  used  in  teaching  that  might 
well  be  postponed  for  the  reasons  here  discussed. 

4.  Observe  for  half  an  hour  to  an  hour  each  the  free  play  of 
(a)  children  under  seven,  {b)  children  of  nine  to  twelve.  Into  how 
many  of  their  games  does  dramatic  imagination  enter  ? 

5.  Get  a  six-year-old  and  a  ten-year-old  to  tell  you  a  story. 
Note  whether  one  is  fanciful  and  the  other  realistic. 

6.  Observe  dramatic  play  of  six-year-olds  and  of  ten-year-olds. 
How  do  they  differ  in  {a)  source  and  kind  of  material  dram- 
atized ?     {h)  spontaneous  use  of  dialogue  ? 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  What  should  be  the  teacher's  aim  in  calling  for  dramatiza- 
tion in  the  first  two  grades? 

2.  Illustrate  the  kind  of  training  necessary  to  help  children 
distinguish  between  fact  and  fancy. 

3.  For  what  sort  of  school  subjects  are  concrete  images  valuable  ? 
For  what  are  verbal  images  preferable  ? 

4.  What  school  subjects  train  constructive  imagination  ?  Crea- 
tive imagination  ? 

5.  Compare  results  of  exercises  4  and  5,  above.  What  conclu- 
sions do  you  draw  as  to  changes  in  imagination  with  age? 

References  for  Reading 

Colvin,  The  Learning  Process,  pp.  1 1 2-1 2  7 . 

Kirkpatrick,  The  Individual  in  the  Making,  pp.  128-138,  146-154, 
189-192,  235-239,  293. 

Daskam,  The  Madness  of  Philip  and  Other  Stories. 

Hall,  Children's  Lies.    American  Journal  of  Psychology,  Vol.  3. 

Smith,  The  Psychology  of  Day  Dreams.  American  Journal  of  Psy- 
chology, Vol.  15. 

(Also  in  '^Aspects  of  Child  Life  and  Education,''  collected  by  Hall.) 


CHAPTER  X 
THINKING 

ORIGINAL  BASIS  OF  POWER  TO  THINK.  —  Of  all  the 

various  powers  that  man  is  heir  to,  his  power  of  thinking  is 
the  most  important.     It  is  most  important  because  j^  thinking 
it  explains  man's  posi|:ion  in  the  animal  scale.     Be-  the  result 
cause  of  it  he  reigns  supreme  in  the  world  of  nature,  o^o/sec-^ 
farthest  removed  from  the  animal  type  of  mind,  ondary  con- 
But  this  difference  after  all  is  one  of  degree  rather  "^^''°"* 
than  kind.     Some  animals  possibly  use  a  thinking  process, 
but  if  they  do  it  is  as  the  flash  of  summer  Hghtning,  gone 
before  it  accomplishes  anything,  with  nothing  to  insure  its 
return;    whereas  with  man,  from  infancy  up,  thinking  is  a 
common  process,  one  which  when  cultivated  produces  the 
wonders  of  modern  philosophy  and  invention.     That  man  has 
this  power  is  just  as  much  a  matter  of  original  nature  as  that 
he  sees  or  moves.     It  is  just  as  much  dependent  on  structure 
as  seeing  is  dependent  on  the  presence  of  an  eye  and  its  nerves ; 
but  as  thinking  is  more  complex  than  mere  seeing,  so  the 
structures  upon  which  it  depends   are  more  complex  and 
numerous  than  are  those  of  the  eye.     In  lac t,  thinking  involves, 
and  requires  the  full  equipment  of  the  human  being.     ''  The. 
pecuHarly  human  features  of  intellect  and  character,  responses, 
to  elements  and  symbols,  are  the  result  of :   first,  a  receiving^ 
system  that  is  easily  stimulated  by  the  external  world  bit  by. 
bit  (as  by  focalized  vision  and  touch  with  the  moving  hand), 
as  well  as  in  totals  composed  of  various  aggregates  of  these 
bits;   second,  of  an  action  system  of  great  versatility  (as  in 

169 


170  Psychology  of  Childhood 

fcacial  expression,  articulation,  and  the  hands'  movements) ; 
and  third,  of  a  connection-system  that  includes  the  connec- 
tions roughly  denoted  by  babbling,  manipulation,  curiosity, 
and  satisfaction  at  activity,  bodily  or  mental,  for  its  own  sake ; 
that  is  capable  of  working  in  great  detail,  singling  out  elements 
of  situations  and  parts  of  responses;  and  that  allows  satis- 
fying and  annoying  states  of  affairs  to  exert  great  influence 
on  their  antecedent  connections."  ^  Because  man's  original 
nature  provides  him  with  power  to  make  secondary  connec- 
tions,' and  to  be  satisfied  when  they  occur  and  to  be  annoyed 
at  their  absence,  he  must,  as  an  inevitable  consequence,  think. 
The  delicacy  and  complexity  of  the  cell  structure  of  the  brain 
are  shown  by  the  presence  in  man's  original  nature  of  such 
tendencies  as  vocalization,  manipulation,  facial  expression, 
curiosity,  and  the  action  of  the  secondary  connections  which 
we  call  mental  control.  Given  a  nervous  system  which  oper- 
ates in  small  parts  and  forms  numerous  associations,  then 
definite  ideas,  as  opposed  to  vague  sense  impressions,  must 
appear.  The  individual  responds  to  parts  of  situations,  to 
elements  and  relationships,  he  comes  to  feel  abstractions,  to 
make  judgments,  and  to  express  such  feelings.  Thinking, 
then,  takes  place  as  a  matter  of  course. 

It  develops  early.  —  Thinking  is  not  a  characteristic  merely 
of  the  adult  human,  but  it  is  found  in  the  species  as  soon  as 
these  free  ideas  emerge. .  As  Dewey  defines  thinking,  —  *'  A 
matter  of  following  up  and  testing  the  conclusions  suggested 
by  the  facts  and  events  of  life,"  it  may  be  observed  in  even  an 
infant.  Noticing  that  the  back  and  front  views  of  people, 
though  so  different,  yet  mean  the  same  person  —  wondering 
over  the  appearing  and  disappearing  of  objects  and  people 
behind  furniture,  through  doors,  in  boxes  and  drawers,  in  the 
delightful  game  of  peek-a-boo  —  puzzling  over  the  meta- 
morphoses of  people  by  clothing  —  these  and  many  other 
similar  daily  experiences  are  stimuli  to  thought,  in  the  sense 

^  Thorndike,  Animal  Intelligence,  p.  281. 


Thinking  171 

of  feeling  relationships,  for  a  baby  under  twelve  months. 
With  the  acquisition  of  language^  individual  feelings  of  meaning 
are  clarified  and  simple  judgments  expressed.  Many  illus- 
trations of  even  good  reasoning  may  be  found  in  children 
under  three  years  of  age.  Later,  all  the  life  of  play  and  of  the 
imagination,  the  interest  in  things  and  in  people,  the  tendency 
to  make  and  collect  articles  of  varied  types,  the  interplay  of 
the  social  instincts,  —  all  of  these  stimulate  and  necessitate 
thinking.  The  difference  between  children  and  adults  is  not 
in  the  absence  in  the  one  and  the  presence  in  the  other  of  such 
mental  processes  as  come  under  the  head  of  thinking,  but 
rather  a  difference  in  degree ;  for  both  possess  the  power  be- 
cause its  roots  are  found  in  the  original  nature  of  all  human 
beings. 

The  chief  DIFFERENCES  BETWEEN  THE  THINKING 
OF  ADULTS  AND  THAT  OF  CHILDREN  may  be  discussed 
under  three  heads :  differences  in  amount,  differ-  ^^  ^^j^^ 
ences  in  accuracy,  and  differences  in  data  used.        way  does 

Children  think  less  than  adults  do.  —  It  has  been  ^^^mg^ 
customary  to  assert  that  children  do  not  think  so  differ  from 
often  as  adults,  that  the  amount  of  thinking  done  "^"  '* 
by  children  in  a  day  is  less  than  the  amount  done  by  adults  in 
the  same  length  of  time.  This  is  probably  true ;  but  when  one 
realizes  what  creatures  of  habit  adults  are,  what  slaves  to  cus- 
tom and  tradition,  what  blind  upholders  of  what  is,  one  won- 
ders how  great  the  difference  is  after  all.  Consideration  of  the 
mental  life  of  the  thousands  in  the  factories  and  mines,  of  the 
women  who  are  overworked  in  the  home,  of  the  overdriven 
men  and  women  who  hold  positions  in  the  business  world,  even 
of  college  students,  forces  any  observer  to  the  conclusion  that 
little,  very  little  thinking  is  done  by  the  average  adult.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  a  gifted  child  of  six  or  seven  will  do  many 
times  the  amount  of  thinking  in  a  day  that  many  adults  do. 
The  differences  between  children  of  the  same  age  in  thinking 
power,  and  that  between  adults  of  the  same  degree  of  maturitv 


172  Psychology  of  Childhood 

is  probably  greater  than  the  difference  between  children  as  a 
class  and  adults. 

Bearing  these  facts  in  mind,  the  first  statement  that  children 
on  the  average  do  not  think  so  often  as  adults,  is  true.  There 
Why  do  are  three  principal  reasons  for  this  difference.  First : 
^h^^^bT  ^^^  character  of  the  adjustments  necessary  to  young 
than,  do  children  is  predominantly  mechanical.  They  have  to 
adults?  learn  to  control  the  various  parts  of  their  bodies, 
to  talk,  to  use  the  common  tools  and  utensils.  Their 
mental  life  centers  largely  in  the  sensory  sphere,  their  conduct 
is  controlled  by  instincts.  In  the  field  of  imagination,  the 
spontaneous,  uncontrolled  type  holds  sway.  Children  must 
possess  a  fund  of  free  ideas,  of  percepts  and  images,  of  re- 
sponses of  conduct,  before  much  thinking,  which  consists  in 
the  control  and  testing  of  such  reactions,  is  possible.  This, 
of  course,  does  not  mean  that  in  early  childhood  there  is  no 
thinking.  It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  children  of 
three  years  of  age  can  and  do  think,  but  it  does  mean  that 
much  of  children's  time  and  energy  must  be  given  to  acquiring 
the  mental  stuff  necessary  to  thinking.  They  must  have  had 
a  certain  amount  of  experience,  reached  a  certain  degree  of 
adjustment  before  problems  appear,  and  therefore  before  think- 
ing is  necessary.  All  along  the  line  from  babyhood  up,  think- 
ing appears  in  connection  with  the  development  of  all  the 
physical  powers  and  mental  abiUties;  but  the  more  mature 
the  individual,  the  less  should  be  the  amount  of  unreflective 
consciousness,  and  the  greater  should  be  the  preparation  for 
thinking.  Children  think  less  often  than  adults  partly  be- 
cause more  of  their  time  has  necessarily  to  be  given  to  mechan- 
ical processes  of  acquiring  material  for  higher  kinds  of  think- 
ing. 

The  second  reason  for  the  fact  that  children  think  less  often 
than  do  adults,  and  from  an  educational  point  of  view  a  more 
important  one,  is  that  the  tendency  is  not  stimulated,  is  even 
inhibited  by  their  environment.     Problems  are  not  allowed  to 


Thinking  173 

arise  in  the  child's  world,  or  if  they  do  they  are  immediately 
solved  by  overanxious  or  careless  adults.  Toys  lost  or  broken 
are  allowed  so  to  remain  or  are  replaced  depending  on  the 
mood  or  the  ability  of  the  adults ;  but  in  how  few  cases  are 
the  children  allowed,  with^elp,  to  solve  the  problem  thus 
occasioned?  They  get  no  spending  money  at  all,  or  else 
having  some,  are  told  just  what  to  do  with  it,  or  are  allowed 
to  spend  it  with  no  guidance.  They  are  told  what  to  do,  are 
shown  how  to  do  things.  They  are  shielded  and  protected, 
and  made  to  imitate  and  conform  until  the  natural  spontaneous^ 
tendency  to  think  is  well-nigh  killed  through  disuse.  That  ^ 
both  the  power  and  the  incUnation  to  think  exist  in  children 
at  an  early  age  is  shown  by  their  reactions  in  free  play  when 
the  overzealous  adult  is  out  of  the  way ;  then,  in  the  stimu-  ' 
la  ting  environment  of  other  children  or  even  of  their  own 
world  of  fancy,  little  children  see  problems  and  solve  them  in 
greater  abundance  than  adults  dream,  unless  they  have 
watched  with  the  motto,  "  Hands  off."  In  the  slums  where 
problems  are  many,  where  even  the  problems  of  food,  shelter, 
and  clothing  confront  the  children,  they  think  and  think  well. 
Wherever  the  environment  presents  problems,  the  frequency  , 
of  reflective  consciousness  increases.  Children  think  as 
little  as  they  do  partly  because  adults  will  not  give  them  op- 
portunity to  do  it  more  often. 

A  third  reason  for  this  lack  is  the  fact  that  discomfort  is 
actually  made  to  follow  the  exhibition  of  the  tendency.  That 
may  seem  to  most  people  a  preposterous  statement,  but  a 
little  reflection  will  prove  its  truth.  Tendencies  to  think  are"! 
nipped  in  the  bud  because  they  are  troublesome  to  manage./ 
Consider  the  hundreds  of  questions  normal,  healthy  children 
of  four  will  ask  in  a  day  with  the  effect  that  before  long  the 
adults,  having  reached  their  limit  of  knowledge,  or  of  nervous 
energy,  tell  the  children  to  stop  asking  questions,  or  to  keep 
quiet;  with  the  result  that  not  only  do  most  children  stop 
asking  questions,  but  they  also  stop  thinking  questions.     Of 


174  Psychology  of  Childhood 

course,  it  is  true  that  sometimes  children  ask  questions  with- 
out either  expecting  or  wanting  answers  merely  to  hold  the 
adult's  attention  if  possible ;  but  this  happens  comparatively 
seldom  with  most  children,  and  can  easily  be  discouraged. 
It  is  no  easy  task  to  answer  a  child's  questions,  and  a  still 
more  difficult  one  to  answer  them  in  such  a  way  that  thought 
is  stimulated  still  further ;   and  yet  not  to  do  so  is  to  inhibit 

r    one  of  the  most  necessary  phases  in  the  development  of  a 

^.thoughtful  man  or  woman. 

Not  only  is  the  asking  of  questions  discouraged,  but  chil- 
dren's attempts  to  think  things  out  for  themselves  are  often 
greeted  with  shouts  of  laughter  by  older  members  of  the 
family,  and  are  repeated  to  others  in  the  children's  presence 
with  such  exclamations,  as,  ''  Is  not  that  funny?  "  "  How  do 
you  suppose  she  ever  got  that  idea?"  "  How  do  children  get 
such  queer  notions  ?  "  The  effect  of  such  an  attitude  on  sen- 
sitive children  is  disastrous.  To  have  their  honest  attempts 
to  answer  the  questions  experience  puts  to  them  held  up  to 
ridicule,  or  even  commented  on  and  exclaimed  over,  takes 
away  their  self-confidence;  children  soon  give  up  such  at- 
tempts, and  simply  sink  back  with  an  "  I  don't  know,"  or 
come  to  depend  absolutely  on  adults,  or  later  on  books,  for 
the  answers  which  at  one  time  they  were  ready  and  anxious 
to  try  to  find  for  themselves. 

A  little  later,  when  they  are  old  enough  to  attempt  experi- 
ment at  manipulation  of  things,  their  efforts  meet  the  same 
kind  of  discouragement.  Of  course  many  of  the  experiments 
turn  out  wrong,  bringing  results  that  the  children  had  not 
dreamed  of ;  they,  in  consequence,  are  considered  "  naughty  " 
and  "  troublesome."  The  children  of  a  surgeon  who,  hearing 
much  of  operations  of  all  kinds,  cut  open  the  hens,  emptied 
their  crops  and  carefully  sewed  them  up  again  to  see  if  they 
would  live,  would  in  most  cases  receive  such  a  punishment 
that  all  desire  for  experiment  would  be  absolutely  killed. 
The  actions  of  the  child  who  tears  up  the  cushion  to  see  if 


Thinking  175 

there  are  real  feathers  inside,  or  who  sets  the  water  jug  out- 
of-doors  in  zero  weather  to  see  if  the  water  will  freeze  and 
crack  it,  or  who  tries  to  walk  backwards  downstairs  and  gets 
a  bad  fall,  or  who  takes  the  clock  apart  to  see  if  he  can  put  it 
together  again,  —  these,  and  hundreds  of  other  honest  at- 
tempts to  test  knowledge  and  power,  are  condemned  by  the 
shortsighted  adult  as  deliberate  mischief  making,  and  punish- 
ment is  meted  out  to  the  investigator.  And  how  the  average 
teacher  dreads  the  **  original,"  "  curious  "  child  —  the  one 
who  always  has  another  question  to  ask,  or  who  always  has 
another  way  to  suggest,  or  who  is  always  popping  up  in  un- 
expected circumstances.  Yet  these  are  the  very  signs  of  the 
characteristic  which  in  theory  we  are  striving  to  cultivate  — 
independent  thinking  power.  No,  in  practice  it  is  the  unob- 
trusive, quiet  child,  who  "  stays  put,"  who  receives  with  ready 
mind  all  that  is  given  him  and  never  objects,  who  does  what 
is  expected  of  him  in  the  usual  way,  —  he  it  is  who  gets  the 
rewards;  and  consequently  the  large  majority  of  children' 
soon  moderate  in  their  zeal  to  do  and  to  think,  for  it  is  human 
nature  to  take  the  road  that  brings  least  discomfort.  Thus^ 
they  become  Httle  imitators,  nothing  more  than  passive  ves-  ' 
sels  into  which  the  adult  complacently  pours  whatever  he 
thinks  needful.  Later  the  adult  stupidly  wonders  at  the  lack 
of  originality  and  reflective  power  which  they  show.  -^ 

The  effect  of  this  attitude  of  adults  may  easily  be  seen  when 
one  compares  the  expressiveness  and  alertness,  the  eagerness 
to  do  and  to  think  of  kindergarten  children  with  the  passivity 
and  indifference  of  many  early  grammar  grade  children, 
especially  thoseMrilled  rigidly  in  parochial  schools.  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  children  do  not  think  so  often  as  do  adults  with 
lack  of  opportunity,  discouragement,  and  sometimes  actual 
discomfort  following  upon  their  attempts  ?  .  A  change  in  these 
conditions  always  results  in  increased  frequency  of  reflective 
activity  in  childhood,  and  therefore  gives  greater  promise  of 
power  in  later  years.     Habits  formed  now  are  far-reaching 


176  Psychology  of  Childhood 

in  their  effects ;  and  if  because  of  inhibition  by  factors  in  the 
environment  the  natural  tendency  to  think  is  replaced  by  a 
tendency  to  depend  on  others,  it  is  extremely  difficult  in  later 
years  to  call  it  into  activity. 

Children's  thinking  is  inaccurate.  —  The  second  great  dif- 
ference between  the  thinking  of  children  and  that  of  adults 
is  in  the  accuracy  of  the  results.     Children  are 
the  main       more  likely  to  make  mistakes,  to  reach  incorrect 
reasons  for    conclusions  than  adults  are. 

children  s  it. 

thinking  There  are  several  reasons  why  this  must  neces- 

beingin-  sarily  be  SO.  In  the  first  place,  their  supply  of 
facts  is  not  adequate.  Children  lack  experience, 
they  do  not  possess  much  of  the  knowledge  adults  have,  and 
therefore,  when  they  try  to  think  things  out,  although  their 
thinking  processes  may  be  perfect,  their  conclusions  may  be 
incorrect  because  the  crucial  fact,  the  one  upon  which  the 
solution  hangs,  is  missing.  The  child  who  vigorously  tugged 
at  his  mother's  hair,  and  when  expostulated  with  said  it  did 
not  hurt  dolly,  lacked  the  knowledge  of  the  difference  between 
people  and  dolls.  Time  and  time  again  the  thinking  of  chil- 
dren in  arithmetic,  geography,  and  the  other  school  subjects 
is  inaccurate,  simply  because  of  the  lack  of  data.  Without 
facts  and  experience  thinking  is  impossible,  and  the  larger 
the  amount  of  data  the  greater  the  possibihties  of  thinking. 

In  the  second  place,  the  material  they  do  possess  is  apt  to  be 
inaccurate.  The  tendency  of  children  to  be  careless  and  in- 
accurate in  their  observations  was  pointed  out  in  connection 
with  the  development  of  perception.  Thus  the  material 
which  children  do  possess,  the  premises  from  which  they 
reason  are  often  false  or  incorrect,  and  therefore  when  these 
are  used  in  their  thinking  of  course  incorrect  conclusions  are 
unescapable.  Further,  the  form  in  which  children's  expe- 
'"rience  and  knowledge  exist  is  conducive  to  inaccuracy.  The^ 
mental  states  that  develop  first  are  chiefly  affective  states,  , 
crude  sensations,  percepts,  reproductive  object  images,  a  few 


Thinking  177 

objective  feelings  of  relationship,  and  thinking  cannot  be 
carried  very  far  using  mental  states  of  these  types.  Of 
course,  children  are  not  absolutely  lacking  in  other  states, 
but  these  develop  slowly,  and  meanwhile  their  thinking  is 
inaccurate.  Feelings  of  meaning,  especially  abstractions 
and  concepts  whereby  one  may  substitute  for  the  total  state 
the  reaction  toward  one  quality,  or  the  concept  standing  for 
hundreds  of  gross  sensory  experiences ;  feelings  of  logical  re- 
lationships, that  is,  of  cause  and  effect,  of  coordination,  or 
subordination,  of  concession  and  so  on;  constructive  and 
verbal  images  whereby  one  may  foresee  the  outcome  of  the 
present  or  plan  for  the  future ;  judgments  of  the  explicit  type 
which,  replacing  the  unreliable  image,  are  more  permanent 
and  at  the  same  time  show  reflective  results,  —  all  these  are 
necessary  before  thinking  can  be  carried  far,  and  to  successful 
conclusions.  These  in  children  are  imperfect,  undeveloped, 
the  very  thinking  itself  is  necessary  to  develop  them ;  and  so 
long  as  this  is  true  their  thinking  must  be  inaccurate,  for  the 
tools  with  which  they  are  working  are  not  adapted  to  the  use 
to  which  they  are  putting  them.  They  are  not  reliable 
enough,  nor  are  they  all  of  the  kind  to  carry  on  the  process 
of  thinking  efficiently. 

In  the  third  place,  the  character  of  children's  attention  makes 
accurate  thinking  difficult.  Thinking  requires  that  the  prob- 
lem be  held  clearly  in  mind,  and  that  the  material  offered  be 
accepted  or  rejected  in  accordance  with  its  bearing  on  the 
question  at  hand.  Now  this  selective  activity  requires  con- 
centrated, sustained  attention  to  ideals.  Children's  atten- 
tion, as  has  already  been  noted,  tends  to  lack  in  concentration 
and  to  be  easily  distracted ;  and  these  characteristics  are  the 
more  marked  when  the  attention  is  given  not  to  perceptual 
objects  but  to  ideas.  Children  may  have  all  the  data  neces- 
sary to  solve  a  given  problem  and  have  it  in  the  most  usable 
form,  and  yet  reach  ah  incorrect  solution  merely  because  they 
could  not  hold  attention  to  the  question  long  enough  and 


178  Psychology  of  Childhood 

clearly  enough  to  make  use  of  what  they  have.  How  often 
it  is  true  that  a  teacher  finds  that  after  a  few  minutes  of  work 
some  of  the  children  have  absolutely  los^f'sight  of  the  problem, 
and  are  going  along  in  a  haphazard  way  with,  of  course,  the 
inevitable  result,  —  a  wrong  answer.  This  inability  of  chil- 
dren to  keep  their  attention  to  the  point  in  question  is  illus- 
trated by  their  tendency  to  take  the  first  idea  that  offers 
itself  irrespective  of  its  bearing  on  the  problem.  Children 
asked  to  define  or  describe  objects  which  they  know  perfectly 
well  will  give  answers  such  as  tlie  following  :  "A  hen  is  some- 
times black."  "  A  box  is  what  I  like."  ''  A  poHceman  is 
my  father."  So  long  as  this  tendency  is  strong  in  children, 
their  thinking  must  be  correspondingly  inaccurate. 

In  the  fourth  place,  this  last  tendency  involves  niore  danger 
in  accuracy  from  the  fact  of  the  lack  of  systematization  of  a 
child's  mental  life.  For  an  adult  to  take  the  first  idea  offered, 
due  to  lack  of  sustained  attention  to  the  problem,  might  not 
lead  him  far  astray  because  his  ideas  on  each  subject  tend  to 
run  in  systems,  to  be  more  or  less  closely  connected  by  logical 
relationship;  but  with  children  this  is  not  so.  Such  an  or- 
ganization comes  only  as  a  result  of  experience  and  of  trained 
thinking;  and  both  of  these  prerequisites  children  lack. 
Their  mental  fife  is  in  a  chaotic  condition,  the  connecting 
element  between  ideas  being  mere  propinquity,  or  a  super- 
ficial likeness,  even  a  verbal  resemblance.  In  thinking  out 
the  problem  —  Why  is  New  York  harbor  a  good  one  ?  — ■  adults 
might  not  go  far  afield  if  they  took  the  first  idea  that  pre- 
sented itself,  because  the  conditions  and  requirements  of  good 
harbors  tend  to  be  associated  about  the  topic,  and  therefore 
any  path  chosen  would  be  likely  to  lead  to  fruitful  results. 
Children,  on  the  contrary,  lacking  such  orderly  arrangement 
and  following  the  same  tendency,  might  come  to  some  con- 
clusion that  had  absolutely  nothing  to  do  with  the  problem 
such  as  :  ''  Because  it  has  the  Statue  of  Liberty."  *'  Because 
the  Hudson  and  the  East  Rivers  empty  into  it."     "  Because 


Thinking  179 

all  the  vessels  of  the  Hudson  and  Fulton  celebration  anchored 
in  it."  Lack  of  systematization  is  one  handicap  to  the  cor- 
rect solution  of  problems,  and  this  is  necessarily  character- 
istic of  the  immature  mind. 

In  the  fifth  place,  the  type  of  association  characteristic  of 
children  is  much  like  that  of  the  lower  animals,  viz. :  associa- 
tion of  wholes.  The  mind  works  coarsely  in  whole  situations, 
and  therefore  discrimination  and  analysis  are  difiicult.  James' 
illustration  of  the  child  who  knew  "  vertical "  only  when  his 
father  held  a  pencil  in  that  position  because  a  pencil  had  been 
used  in  the  teaching  of  the  word,  is  a  case  in  point.  Children, 
and  adults  too  for  that  matter,  who  can  answer  a  question 
correctly  when  asked  in  a  certain  way  but  fail  if  it  is  framed  a 
little  differently,  are  responding  to  the  whole  situation,  in- 
stead of  to  the  important  element  in  it.  Mental  activity 
that  is  organized  in  such  rudimentary,  undifferentiated  fashion 
can  go  but  a  little  way  toward  solving  a  problem.  That  type 
of  activity  will  never  respond  to  meanings  irrespective  of  their 
carriers,  nor  to  elements  irrespective  of  the  situations  in  which 
they  may  be  found,  nor  to  relationships  irrespective  of  the 
particular  wholes  between  which  they  may  at  present  exist. 
And  thinking  requires  all  this.  It  is  the  "  piece-meal  "  activ- 
ity, the  activity  involving  small  parts  of  an  associative  system, 
that  makes  thinking  possible.  So  long  as  the  coarser  form  of 
association  predominates  thinking  must  be  equally  crude; 
Only  when  because  of  age,  experience,  and  training,  the  subtler 
and  finer  form  of  association  becomes  more  pronounced  can 
thinking  be  carried  on  accurately. 

In  the  sixth  place,  children  lack  a  critical  attitude,  and  hence 
often  go  astray  in  their  thinking.  This  lack  of  criticism  works 
in  two  ways :  because  of  it,  children  accept  some  minor,  un- 
important element  as  the  essential  one  in  the  problem,  and 
also  they  fail  to  weigh  and  test  their  results.  In  most  think- 
ing, the  key  to  the  problem  depends  upon  the  substitution  of 
some  part,  element,  or  aspect  of  the  situation  for  the  whole 


i8o  Psychology  of  Childhood 

situation.  The  element  selected  will,  of  course,  determine 
the  course  of  association,  and  therefore  the  answer.  To  pick 
out  the  right  element  from  among  the  many  offered  requires 
keen  discrimination,  a  valuing  of  the  element  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  problem ;  in  short,  it  requires  a  critical  weighing 
of  the  respective  merits  of  all  the  possibilities  offered.  This 
children  do  not  do,  partly  because  from  lack  of  experience 
with  the  various  elements  of  the  material  offered  they  do  not 
know  which  is  the  essential  condition,  but  also  partly  because 
they  have  not  the  attitude  of  criticism  towards  what  is  offered. 
The  child  who,  having  been  accustomed  to  hearing  stories 
told  her  at  bedtime,  asks  to  be  put  to  bed  in  the  morning,  in 
order  to  have  stories  told,  is  a  case  in  point.  An  unimportant 
element  is  selected  as  the  essential  one,  and  hence  the  result 
of  the  thinking  is  incorrect.  The  same  defect  is  illustrated 
by  children  who,  having  been  taught  addition  by  the  use  of 
shoe-pegs,  and  subtraction  by  the  use  of  beans,  always  added 
when  shoe-pegs  were  given,  and  subtracted  when  beans  were 
distributed,  irrespective  of  what  the  problem  called  for.  This 
lack  of  a  critical  attitude  towards  the  element  selected  is  not 
by  any  means  confined  to  children ;  it  is  manifested  by  adults 
again  and  again,  in  fact,  is  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for  defec- 
tive thinking  whenever  found.  However,  simply  because  of 
the  lack  of  experience  and  training,  as  well  as  because  of  the 
type  of  association  found  in  children,  they  show  it  to  a  more 
marked  degree  than  do  adults.  This  lack  of  a  critical  attitude 
is  manifested  again  in  the  attitude  of  children  towards  their 
results.  They  tend  to  accept  them  without  any  further  con- 
sideration, whereas  an  inspection  of  the  result  in  the  light  of 
the  problem,  or  testing  of  the  result  to  see  if  it  would  work, 
would  often  show  that  it  could  not  possibly  be  correct.  Older 
children  and  adults,  because  they  are  more  critical,  save 
themselves  from  accepting  something  totally  wrong  as  the 
right  solution ;  but  this  tendency  is  not  characteristic  of  the 
child  mind. 


Thinking  i8i 

These  six  reasons  for  inaccurate  thinking  on  the  part  of 
children  overlap  in  several  instances.  They  are  interrelated 
so  that  defective  action  of  one  type  often  involves  others; 
however,  they  are  more  or  less  independent  causes  of  mistakes, 
and  in  training  each  one  must  be  reckoned  with.  This  dis- 
cussion of  the  defects  in  children's  thinking  bears  out  the 
statement  made  earlier,  viz. :  that  thinking  is  a  complex  opera- 
^tion  involving  practically  all  the  types  of  mental  states  and 
processes.  As  it  is  the  capstone  of  man's  power,  both  intel- 
lectual and  moral,  any  weakness  of  the  simpler  parts  is  a 
structural  defect.  Incomplete  or  inaccurate  perception,  de- 
fective memory,  poor  habits  of  attention,  lack  of  develop- 
ment of  the  more  effective  types  of  imagery,  —  all  these  have 
their  effect  on  thinking,  making  it  more  difficult  and  causing 
inaccuracies.  If  the  whole  fair  palace  is  to  be  steady,  the 
foundation  must  be  well  laid  and  the  materials  sound. 

Children's  problems  are  different.     Triviality  is  a  relative 
term.  —  Another  difference  between  children  and  adults  in 
their  thinking  is  in  the  character  of    data  used. 
In  adult  life,  thinking  is  done  in  connection  .with  ^cesS 
problems  that  have  a  direct  bearing  on  the  well-  stimuli  are 
being  of  the  individual,  or  his  family,  or  the  com-  ^J^^^  ^' 
munity  at  large.     It  is  in  connection  with  business  adults'  and 
problems,  or  questions  of  poHtics,  or  religion,  or  ^thln^ng? 
social  conditions,  that  adults  are  called  upon  to 
think.     The  results  of  this  thinking  are  fairly  evident  and  very 
often  valuable  in  a  practical  way.     We  make  this  adjustment, 
are  successful  in  this  way  or  that,  get  along  in  the  world,  deal 
with  people,  propound  a  new  theory,  suggest  means  for  social 
betterment,  publish  a  book,  or  perfect  an  invention,  and  in 
each  case,  something  of  value  from  the  standpoint  of  the  world 
at  large  is  accomphshed.     In  childhood  all  this  is  different. 
Children's  thinking  is  done  largely  in  connection  with  their 
play;    their  Uttle  problems  are  often  unknown  to  adults  or 
thought  to  be  trivial  and  pointless  if  known.     They  apparently 


/ 


1 82  Psychology  of  Childhood 

accomplish  nothing  worth  noticing  as  a  result  of  their  thinking. 
Of  what  account  is  it  that  a  child,  as  a  result  of  his  own  think- 
ing, has  found  out  the  quickest  way  to  get  dressed  in  the  morn- 
ing, or  how  he  can  beat  Johnny  in  getting  to  school,  or  how  the 
doll's  eyes  work,  or  which  is  the  best  spot  to  fish  in?  The 
average  adult  ignores  all  such  thinking  as  not  worthy  of  the 
name.  This  is  but  another  of  the  countless  instances  of  the 
unfairness  and  shortsightedness  of  adults  in  dealing  with 
children,  when  they  consider  worthless  any  data,  processes, 
and  results  that  are  unworthy  of  adult  thinking.  Of  course 
such  an  attitude  is  manifestly  unfair.  Children  cannot  be 
judged  by  the  same  standards  as  adults  in  any  sphere  of 
thought  or  conduct.  Thinking  of  the  type  illustrated  is 
just  as  valuable,  just  as  significant,  just  as  difficult  for 
the  child  as  the  more  abstract  and  complex  variety  is  for 
the  adult. 

No  abrupt  change  at  adolescence.  —  The  fact  that  much  of 
the  childish  thinking  has  been  ignored  because  of  the  triviality 
of  the  situations  occasioning  it  is  one  origin  for  the  theory 
that  at  adolescence  comes  an  awakening  of  the  thinking  powers. 
Childhood  has  been  designated  as  the  unreflective  period, 
and  adolescence  talked  of  as  if  at  thirteen  or  fourteen  thinking 
power  and  reasoning  suddenly  developed.  The  truth  of  the 
matter  probably  is,  that  in  the  adolescent  period  the  problems 
dealt  with  are  similar  to  the  problems  confronting  the  adult, 
and  therefore  receive  recognition.  There  is  no  experimental 
evidence  to  show  that  there  is  a  sudden  birth  of  thinking 
power  at  this  time.  In  fact,  all  the  evidence  goes  to  show 
that  it  is  a  gradual  development  beginning  in  early  childhood, 
and  continuing  to  maturity,  —  not  necessarily  a  regular 
growth,  but  a  continuous  one.  Another  reaspn  for  the  preva- 
lence of  the  theory  is  that  in  the  adolescent  period,  because  of 
the  aggressiveness  of  .youth,  more  freedom  is  allowed,  and. 
therefore  more  opportunities  for  problems  arise  with  the  re- 
sulting attempt  at  solution.     The  difference  in  actual  power 


Thinking  183 

between  the  little  child  and  the  youth  is  thus  exaggerated 
by  environmental  conditions. 

NEED  OF  TRAINING  IN  THINKING.  —  To  say  that 
children  need  training  in  thinking  is  superfluous.  Nothing  is 
more  discussed  in  pedagogical  literature  to-day 
than  this  need.  Teachers  are  exhorted  on  all  sides  training  in 
to  make  children  think.  Despite  all  of  this  dis-  \e<^soning 
cussion,  little  progress  has  been  made  in  meeting 
this  need,  Uttle  has  been  accomphshed  in  developing  ability 
to  meet  life's  problems  and  solve  them  successfully.  Progress 
in  this  field  must  necessarily  be  slow  for  several  reasons :  the 
limitation  of  the  individual  because  of  lack  of  natural  endow- 
ment shows  particularly  here,  the  complexity  and  delicacy 
of  the  process  involved  requiring  not  only  power  on  the  part 
of  the  learner,  but  great  skill  on  the  part  of  the  teacher ;  the 
organization  of  the  school  itself  makes  this  sort  of  develop- 
ment difficult ;  lack  of  knowledge  of  child  nature  is  a  serious 
handicap.  Only  when  the  child's  power  is  fully  recognized 
and  made  use  of  at  the  different  stages,  and  when  the  difficul- 
ties in  frequency  and  accuracy  of  ^thinking  are  known,  and 
when  teaching  is  definitely  planned  to  overcome  them,  will 
training  in  thinking  accomplish  the  results  that  are  desired 
by  society.  The  lines  this  training  should  take  are,  as  has 
been  suggested,  to  see  that  children  do  meet  problems,  that 
we  refrain  from  doing  for  them  what  they  may  be  encouraged 
to  do  for  themselves.  Which  is  worse,  the  effect  of  the  of- 
ficious adult  on  the  child's  ability  or  the  effect  of  the  meddle- 
some child  on  the  adult's  temper?  Then,  from  sympathy ^ 
with  children's  need  for  knowledge,  to  answer  their  questions 
simply,  truthfully,  yet  tentatively,  as  a  stimulus  rather  than 
a  check  to  further  thought.  More,  their  investigations  must 
be  regarded  not  as  malicious  offenses  but  as,  possibly  mis- 
guided, laboratory  experiments.  Space  and  safeguarded 
opportunities  for  activities  are  needed  more  than  reprimands 
or  penalties.     Then,  copious  fact-giving,  together  with  tlie 


184  Psychology  of  Childhood 

scope  for  varied  and  immediate  contact  with  things,  in  them- 
selves supply  a  greater  range  and  accuracy  of  data  from  which 
to  reason  along  higher  lines ;  but  especially  when  dealing  with 
abstract  problems,  assistance  must  be  given  in  the  form  of 
constant  reminders  of  the  point  at  issue,  suggestions  for  system- 
atizing ideas,  criticisms  of  the  relevancy  of  thoughts  as  they 
occur.  Drill  will  be  needed  in  analysis,  in  picking  out  the  sig- 
nificant part  of  the  whole  situation,  in  testing  the  results 
of  thinking,  especially  in  forming  the  habit  of  supporting 
conclusions  by  stating  explicitly  the  premises  from  which  they 
are  derived.  Further,  we  must  not  only  present  problems  of 
interest  to  children,  but  realize  that  results  which  are  trivial 
to  us  are  dignified  and  worthy  to  them. 

Exercises 

1.  Collect  instances  of  thinking  and  reasoning  of  children. 

2.  From  the  instances  collected,  explain  any  inaccuracies  by 
one  of  the  six  causes  discussed  in  this  chapter. 

3.  Classify  the  examples  given  below,  in  similar  fashion.  (The 
first  14  are  taken  from  Brown's  "  Study  of  Children's  Reasoning," 
in  Ped.  Sem.,  Vol.  II.) 

A.  Age  I  yr.  8  mo.  After  visiting  a  bald  grandfather,  child  re- 
named a  doll  whose  hair  had  come  off  "Grandpa." 

B.  2  yr.  8  mo.  F.  saw  the  moon  when  it  was  full,  later  in  its 
first  quarter,  thought  her  little  brother  had  been  meddling  with  it. 

C.  3  yr.  G.  planted  a  dime  in  the  garden  expecting  to  be  rich 
when  it  grew. 

D.  3  yr.  When  H.'s  father  overslept  one  day  she  asked  if  it 
was  Sunday  morning. 

E.  3  yr.  8  mo.  L.  criticized  her  aunt's  method  of  darning,  "Oo 
ain't  darnin'  .  .  .  right  at  all ;  my  mamma  puts  'em  on  a  darner." 

F.  4  yr.  "I  would  like  to  go  out  in  the  rain  and  get  bigger, 
'cause  the  rain  makes  you  grow." 

G.  5  yr.    On  seeing  a  crooked  tree,  "  See  that  tree  sitting  down." 
H.  5  yr.  8  mo.     Referring  to  the  ownership  of  gray  eyes,  "You 

are  getting  to  be  an  old  woman." 


Thinking  185 

I.  5  yr.  B.  heard  the  noise  of  frying  pork  and  simultaneously  the 
cat  crying,  and  reported  later  that  they  were  frying  the  cat's  tail. 

J.  7  yr.  E.  turned  over  the  picture  of  a  girl  "to  see  if  her  dress 
was  buttoned  in  the  back." 

K.  7  yr.  8  mo.  X.  watching  black  smoke  rising  from  a  mill 
chimney  stack  said  it  would  rain  next  day,  for  "black  smoke 
makes  black  clouds,  and  that's  the  ones  that  rains." 

L.  9  yr.  Bethlehem  is  judged  near  the  equator,  because  the 
mother  is  pictured  wearing  a  lace  dress,  which  would  be  worn 
only  where  it  is  hot. 

M.  10  yr.  9  mo.  Child  thought  it  would  be  colder  riding  than 
walking  "because  you  are  higher  up  in  the  air.^' " 

N.  12  yr.  3  mo.  F.  buried  his  kitten  in  a  very  shallow  grave 
because  he  had  heard  that  cats  have  nine  lives  and  "if  his  cat 
came  to  life  he  didn't  want  it  to  smother." 

O.  Children  under  five  will  either  inquire  if  it  will  hurt  their 
dolls  to  treat  them  in  various  ways,  e.g.  stick  pins  into  them, 
leave  them  out  in  the  cold ;  or  are  convinced  that  their  dolls  think, 
feel  as  they  themselves  do. 

P.  Children  even  of  kindergarten  age  may  ask  such  questions 
as  "When  I'm  big  will  mother  be  small?"  Myers'  boy  asked, 
"When  I  was  a  big  boy  where  did  Daddy  come  from ? " 

Q.  Myers'  boy  at  3  saw  the  wagon  wet  and  concluded  it  must 
have  rained. 

4.  What  is  the  value  of  exercises  such  as  the  following  for  children 
in  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  grades?  (They  are  taken  from 
Bonser's  monograph  on  "  The  Reasoning  Abihty  of  Children.") 

Directions.  As  quickly  as  you  can,  make  these  sentences  cor- 
rect by  drawing  a  line  through  the  wrong  word  where  two  words 
occur,  one  above  the  other. 

Iron  is  ,      ,      than  wood, 
harder 

Shadows  are  ,  in  summer  than  in  winter, 

longer 

Anything  that  floats  is  ,.  ,         than  water. 

more 


Oranges  are  ,         sweet  than  lemons. 


1 86  Psychology  of  Childhood 

Among  these  reasons  why  horses  are  better  than  cattle  for  driv- 
ing and  working  animals,  check  those  which  you  think  are  good 
reasons. 

1.  Horses  are  more  inteUigent  than  cattle. 

2.  Cattle  are  not  so  tall  as  horses. 

3.  Horses  like  corn,  oats,  and  hay. 

4.  Horses  are  much  more  active  and  walk  faster  than  cattle. 

5.  Cattle  are  extensively  used  for  food. 

6.  Horses  are  much  more  beautiful  and  graceful  than  cattle. 

7.  The  skins  of  horses  are  sometimes  made  into  gloves. 

8.  Horses  are  more  easily  trained  and  controlled  than  cattle. 

9.  President  Roosevelt  likes  to  ride  on  horseback. 

10.  Horses  have  more  rapid  and  varied  gaits  than  cattle. 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  What  school  subjects  offer  most  constant  opportunities  for 
training  in  reasoning  ? 

2.  What  special  training  value  for  thinking  is  there  in  the  con- 
structive activities  of  manual  training,  garment  making,  cookery, 
shop-work,  etc.? 

3.  How  may  training  in  reasoning  be  made  of  moral  value? 

4.  What  means  of  verification  should  children  be  trained  to  use  ? 

5.  What  habits  need  to  be  formed  in  connection  with  reasoning  ? 

6.  Why  is  it  more  difficult  to  teach  pupils  to  think  than  to  teach 
them  to  memorize? 

References  for  Reading 

Dewey,  How  We  Think. 
Bonser,  The  Reasoning  Ability  of  Children. 
Miller,  The  Psychology  of  Thinking,  chs.  10,  14. 
Sully,  Studies  of  Childhood. 


CHAPTER  XI 

GENERAL   TENDENCIES   OF   ALL   THE   TENDENCIES,— 
HABIT  AND  LEARNING 

PLASTICITY      THE      PHYSIOLOGICAL      BASIS      OF 
HABIT-FORMING.  —  So   far   the   topics  under    considera- 
tion have  been  definite  tendencies  to  action,  to  For  what 
feeling,   and    to    thought.     They  have  been  par-  reason  is 

111,  .  .  ,  habit- 

ticular  bonds  between  situations  and  responses,  forming 
These  bonds  have  been  in  terms  of  neurone-systems  Possible? 
the  synapses  between  which  were  open  as  a  matter  of 
natural  equipment.  Birtrthese  bonds  by  means  of  which 
a  man  is  sensitive,  or  acts,  or  thinks,  have  themselves  cer- 
tain tendencies  or  characteristics,  the  most  important  of 
which  is  that  one  which  results  in  permanent  modification, 
known  as  learning,  or  habit.  This  characteristic  has  been 
generally  called  "  plasticity."  Man  above  all  other  animals 
possesses  this  something,  and  children  are  characterized  by 
it  to  an  extreme  degree.  Plasticity  means  the  power  of 
neurones  to  be  sensitive  to  what  happens  to  them,  and  to  be 
changed  permanently  thereby.  Of  course,  it  is  the  synapses 
in  particular  that  are  so  affected.  This  fact  of  the  plasticity 
of  the  connections,  together  with  the  richness  both  as  to 
number  and  variety  of  man's  original  equipment,  accounts 
for  his  supremacy  over  all  animals  in  power  to  learn.  If 
either  factor  were  less  perfect  than  it  is,  there  would  result 
decreased  educability.  A  lessening  of  the  ^richness  and 
complexity  of  the  responses  grouped  under  such  heads  as 
manipulation,  vocalization,  attention,  mental  control,  would 
enormously  change  his  power  of  learning;  if  the  synapses 

187 


1 88  Psychology  of  Childhood 

were  less  sensitive  to  currents  passing  over  them,  or  were  les 
permanently  affected  by  them,  the  same  result  would  ensue 
Both  the  definite  bonds  and  plasticity  of  such  bonds  ar( 
necessary  to  explain  the  difference  between  man  and  th( 
lower  animals  in  respect  to  learning ;  for  learning  has  alwayi 
to  do  with  the  modification  of  some  definite  response  o 
thought,  feeling,  or  action. 

Variation  in  plasticity.  —  Three  questions  arise  in  con 
nection  with  this  characteristic  of  plasticity :  (i)  are  all  bondi 
equally  modifiable?  (2)  is  this  plasticity  equal  at  all  ages 
(3)  are  some  bonds  more  open  to  modification  at  certain  age; 
than  at  others?  Taking  these  three  questions  in  order,  al 
bonds  are  not  equally  modifiable;  those  controlling  the 
physiological  and  reflex  operations  are  but  slightly  modifiable 
Among  the  so-called  instincts  such  responses  as  those  con- 
nected with  fear,  food-getting,  and  mastery  are  less  modifiable 
than  those  connected  with  vocalization,  manipulation,  am 
attention;  but  all  in  this  group  are  more  modifiable  thai 
those  in  the  first  group.  The  bonds  having  to  do  with  thf 
secondary  connections  and  capacities  are  most  modifiable 
With  regard  to  permanence  of  the  modification,  it  seems 
probable  that  those  bonds  made  up  of  sensori-motor  con- 
nections hold  the  effects  of  modification  longer  than  those 
connections  which  are  sensori-associative,  or  associative- 
associative.  In  other  words,  learning  which  results  in  such 
habits  as  skating,  cricketing,  sewing,  piano  playing,  type- 
writing, will  probably  be  more  permanent  than  learning  which 
results  in  memory  of  historical  facts,  or  poetry,  knowledge 
of  geometry,  or  linguistic  skill. 

Age  diferences  in  plasticity.  —  Plasticity  is  not  equal  at 
all  ages;  childhood  is  the  most  plastic  period.  The  discus- 
sion of  the  retentive  power  in  children  is  an  illustration  ol 
this  point.  Much  has  been  made  of  this  fact,  and  the  value 
of  infancy  from  the  standpoint  of  development  of  intelligence 
has  received  much  attention.    Without  doubt  all  that  ha^ 


General  Tendencies,  Habit  and  Learning         189 

been  urged  for  it  is  true,  but  on  the  other  hand,  the  resulting 
implication,  and  in  some  cases  doctrine,  that  habits  can  be 
formed  only  with  difficulty  after  one  is  twenty-five  and  only 
as  a  miracle  after  thirty-five,  is  untrue  to  the  facts.  In  the 
laboratory  experiments  with  adults  when  the  conditions 
svere  the  best,  modification  was  always  noted,  and  in  some 
:ases  very  great  improvement  took  place.  Of  course,  there 
ire  all  sorts  of  individual  differences  here  as  elsewhere,  but 
the  facts, seem  to  point  to  a  much  longer  period  of  learning 
than  has  commonly  been  accepted. 

Periods  of  greater  plasticity.  —  In  the  third  place,  as  a 
matter  of  mere  inner  growth,  it  seems  to  be  true  that  certain 
neurone-systems  are  more  susceptible  of  modification  at 
:ertain  times  than  at  others.  It  is  a  generally  accepted  fact 
that  the  finger  dexterity  and  suppleness  required  in  musical 
technique  must  be  acquired  in  childhood;  accent  in  speak- 
ing another  language  is  much  more  easily  acquired  in  child- 
lood  than  later,  also  the  skill  of  the  acrobat  or  tumbler  must 
De  developed  during  the  early  years.  These  and  many  other 
iacts  point  to  the  conclusion  that  has  experimental  backing, 
i.e.  that  physical  learning  comes  most  easily  in  early  child- 
hood. The  '*  memory  period  "  is  believed  by  many  to  be 
between  ten  and  twelve  when  modification  of  certain  second- 
ary connections  takes  place  most  easily,  leaving  the  more 
complex  habits  of  thought  for  the  years  of  puberty  and  be- 
yond. No  one  of  these  periods  is  sharply  divided  from  the 
3ther,  and  modification  along  all  lines  is  going  on  during  each 
Df  the  periods,  but  the  rate  of  modification  varies  as  has  been 
indicated. 

Suggestions  for  training.  —  These  facts  have  important 
practical  bearings.  The  great  plasticity  of  the  period  of 
infancy  and  early  childhood  must  result  in  the  formation 
3f  habits.  Whether  the  parents  know  it  or  not,  whether  the 
teacher  realizes  it  or  not,  the  very  nature  of  the  child's  nerv- 
Dus  system  necessitates  learning.     It  is  affected  by  all  that 


190  Psychology  of  Childhood 

happens  to  it,  and  something  is  happening  every  minute  oi 
the  day.  The  environment  of  the  young  child  is  one  of  the 
most  important  influences  in  his  education.  Be- 
training^f  cause  of  the  force  of  reflex  imitation  working  with 
very  little  this  factor  of  plasticity,  the  emotional  attitudes  oi 
important?  those  by  whom  he  is  surrounded  leave  their  im- 
press on  the  child  before  he  has  lived  thirt} 
months.  His  disposition  is  being  formed;  he  is  becoming 
irritable,  quick-tempered,  moody,  or  sunny  and  cheerful 
just  which,  however,  being  determined  to  a  larger  extent  thai 
people  realize  by  the  natures  of  the  adults  surrounding  him,  — 
and  this  all  unconscious  to  himself,  simply  as  a  result  of  thi 
modifiabiUty  of  his  neurones.  In  the  field  of  morals  an( 
manners,  the  same  element  makes  itself  felt.  The  old  adag 
—  "  Let  a  child  run  until  he  is  six  and  you  never  catch  him  "  — 
is  a  recognition  of  the  far-reaching  effects  of  the  habits  forme« 
in  this  period. 

It  was  noted  above  that  not  only  is  the  plasticity  greatest  i 
early  childhood,  but  that  it  is  greater  in  lines  of  muscula 
habits  than  it  will  ever  be  again,  and  further,  that  sensori 
motor  bonds  are  retained  longer  than  any  other  kind ;  thert 
fore,  without  any  doubt,  the  years  before  nine  are  preeminentl 
the  ones  in  which  to  establish  good  physical  habits.  Th 
hygienic  habits  of  eating  and  sleeping  at  regular  periods, 
evacuation ;  habits  of  cleanliness  and  tidiness ;  habits  of  po! 
ture,  carriage  of  the  body,  and  of  walking ;  habits  of  language 
both  of  the  mother  tongue  and  modern  languages ;  habits 
the  use  of  tools  and  implements,  —  this  is  the  period  when  a 
such  are  formed.  If  the  habits  are  good,  the  child  has  mac 
a  splendid  beginning  in  the  race  of  Ufe,  he  has  capital  tl 
benefit  of  which  he  will  feel  as  the  years  pass ;  if  the  habi 
are  bad  ones,  just  the  reverse  will  be  true,  and  it  must  be  01 
or  the  other.  Children  in  these  early  years  cannot  he 
forming  habits ;  for,  as  has  been  said  before,  it  is  the  natu 
of  their  nervous  systems  to  be  modifiable. 


General  Tendencies^  Habit  and  Learning         191 

LAWS  OF  HABIT-FORMING.  —  General  psychology 
[ays  down  Jwo  great^.l£LW5,,-Qi.Uiabit-fo^  the  law    of 

Exercise,  and  the  law  of  Effect.     TheSe  laws  cover 
ill  sorts  of  cases  of  habit-formation  from  the  more  the  laws 
unconscious,  childish  forms  to  the  later,  purposive  ^f^^^^^, 
tiabits.     Each  law  has  derivatives,  or  corollaries. 
Exercise  inVolves  also  the  intensity  and  duration  of  responses, 
IS  well  as  the  way  they  are  grouped  together  in  time ;  effect 
is  modified  by  the  degree  of  attention  paid  to  situation  and 
response  and  by  the  recency  of  the  formation  of  the  bonds. 
Continued  exercise  frequently  depends  upon  the  effect  of  the 
first  response  made.^ 

It  is  sometimes  surprising  to  adults  to  find  how  much 
effect  in  the  way  of  pleasant  consequences  will  outweigh 
mere  frequency  with  children.  They  will  affirm  ''  We  always 
io  this  "  or  *'  We  have  it  so  and  so  "  when  perhaps  a  process 
das  occurred  only  once  or  twice,  but  with  results  which  were 
satisfying,  therefore  pleasant  to  remember,  probably  idealized. 
On  the  other  hand,  not  lack  of  repetition  but  frequency  it- 
self may  be  ignored  by  children  when  their  attention  is  fixed 
Dn  the  pleasurable  effect,  as  is  illustrated  by  the  ecstatic 
exclamation  of  "  Oh,  pie !  "  or  "  Ice-cream  to-day !  "  to  the 
embarrassment  of  the  mother  in  presence  of  visitors,  though 
these  viands  are  by  no  means  rare.  Equally  arresting  is 
it  to  find  sometimes  that  even  very  unpleasant  results  will 
not  deter  a  very  strong  impulse  from  starting  to  develop  into 
a  habit.  Thus  a  four-year-old  child  persisted  in  attempts 
to  reach  some  attractive  wild  flowers  though  he  fell  three 
times  in  the  course  of  one  day  into  a  deep  ditch  full  of  water, 
and  was  chastised  each  time.  Boys  continue  in  physical 
combat  in  spite  of  the  pain  it  entails.  Teachers  must  allow 
for  the  intense,  yet  short-lived  emotions  of  childhood  when 

^  For  a  discussion  of  these  laws  see  any  standard  text,  e.g.  Colvin,  The 
Learning  Process,  pp.  149-154.  Thorndike,  Psychology  of  Learning,  Intro- 
duction. 


192  Psychology  of  Childhood 

seeking  for  suitable  motives  to  supply,  and  for  satisfying 
results  to  be  brought  about  so  that  they  are  felt  in  direct 
connection  with  the  desired  response.  Also,  in  cases  of 
exercise  of  undesirable  tendencies  in  spite  of  disagreeable 
effects,  the  situation  should  be  analyzed  further,  and  counter 

attractions  set  up.  """ -"  ~~      *^'         "" 

From  these  two  general  laws  two  practical  precepts  have 
been  evolved:   "Form  habits  as  they  will  be  used,"    and 

"  Reward  good  impulses."  These  seem  almost  too 
higfrin-^^'  obvious  to  merit  discussion ;  yet  it  is  true  that  no 
cipiesdo  laws  or  precepts  are  more  often  overlooked  in  deal- 
^suggest?^     ing  with  children  than  just  these.     For  example, 

though  habits  come  only  by  repetition  and  exercise 
of  the  learner's  own  nerves  and  muscles,  yet  many  parents 
and  teachers  seem  to  expect  them  to  come  by  magic.  Of 
course  they  would  not  admit  this,  but  what  else  explains  their 
expectations  and  customs?  Instead  of  seeing  to  it  that 
children  form  habits,  they  rest  content  with  mere  exhorta- 
tions or  expositions.  Mothers  expect  Httle  girls  to  be  polite 
with  no  further  training  than  an  exasperated  "  Don't  be  so 
rude !  "  can  give ;  teachers  suppose  that  children  will  be  able 
to  add  3  plus  12  because  they  know  12  plus  3.  Children  are 
told  how  to  hold  pencils  or  needles,  how  to  use  a  plane  or  a 
paint  brush,  how  to  throw  a  ball  or  produce  a  legato  touch  on 
the  piano,  and  then  adults  are  impatient  when  they  do  not 
do  these  things  from  the  mere  telUng.  As  though  nerve  con- 
nections used  from  ear  to  associative  center  would  bring 
about  automatism  from  motor  center  to  hand !  As  bad  as 
these  violations  of  "  form  habits  .  .  .  "  is  the  ignoring  of 
the  rest  of  that  maxim,  '^  ...  as  they  will  he  used.''  Much 
time  is  given  to  oral  spelling  and  reading,  to  written  language 
and  arithmetic,  to  composition  in  art  and  music,  whereas 
ordinary  life  situations  call  for  written  speUing,  silent  reading, 
oral  language,  mental  arithmetic,  appreciation  in  art,  rendi- 
tion of  others'  music  hundreds  of  times  as  often  as  for  the 


General  Tendencies,  Habit  and  Learning         193 

ictivities  mentioned.  Then,  too,  children  are  drilled  in 
;erial  habits,  such  as  repeating  tables  of  weights  and  measures, 
nultiplication  tables,  principal  parts  of  verbs,  declensions 
md  conjugations,  lists  of  dates  and  the  like,  when  the  con- 
lections  needed  in  ordinary  usage  are  not  these  at  all  but 
)aired  facts  possibly,  or  a  response  to  one  fact  by  itself.  A 
;erial  habit  of  this  type  not  only  omits  to  form  a  habit  that 
s  to  be  used,  but  it  is  a  distinct  hindrance  to  the  early  stages 
)f  the  formation  of  the  needed  habits. 

For  any  desired  habit  we  cannot  trust  to  mere  repetition ; 
t  must  be  repetition  with  satisfactory  results.  Neutral  con- 
sequences  or  unpleasant  accompaniments  will  not  succeed 
n  establishing  a  habit.  Children  must  not  be  expected  to 
earn  their  spelling  words  by  repeating  them  over  and  over 
igain  to  themselves  with  no  different  result  to  their  con- 
sciousness when  they  repeat  correctly  from  what  they  ex- 
Derience  when  they  repeat  incorrectly.  Many  times  the  last 
iine  on  the  page  of  the  old-fashioned  copy  book  was  worse 
than  the  first,  and  the  last  page  no  better  than  the  first  page. 
Practice  will  not  make  perfect  unless  satisfaction  follows  the 
variations  that  are  in  the  direction  of  the  ideal.  Good  im- 
pulses must  be  definitely  rewarded,  and  undesirable  impulses 
must  fail  of  achieving  satisfaction.  Too  often  this  maxim  is 
v^iolated  by  such  practices  as  granting  children  their  requests 
if  they  tease  long  enough,  paying  attention  to  troublesome 
children  and  those  who  are  trying  to  *'  show  off,"  while 
ignoring  the  good,  well-behaved  ones.  Other  misuses  of 
the  law  of  effect  are  such  customs  as  giving  children  poetry 
or  Bible  passages  to  memorize  as  a  punishment,  exaggerating 
the  value  of  a  promised  reward,  forgetting  to  comment  on  an 
improvement,  quoting  a  child's  impudence  in  front  of  him 
as  though  it  were  commendable,  and  the  like.  In  line  with 
these  are  the  schoolroom  customs  of  scoring  only  the  mis- 
takes in  composition,  drawing,  or  music,  and  of  giving  mis- 
spelled words  and  incorrect  syntax  for  correction;  only  in 


194  Psychology  of  Childhood 

these  cases  the  wrong  form  of  the  habit  is  encouraged  by 
emphasizing  it  to  the  exclusion  of  the  right  forms. 

.  With  young  children  the  responsibiHty  of  providing  op- 
portunity for  exercise,  and  of  making  sure  that  satisfactory 
results  follow  effective  exercise,  rests  on  the  adult,  either 
teacher  or  parent.  Many  of  the  habits  which  it  is  worth 
.  while  for  children  to  form  seem  to  them  to  be  of  no  value, 
L  and  therefore,  of  their  own  accord,  they  do  not  exercise  them. 
Some  one  to  whom  their  value  is  evident  must  provide  the 
opportunities.  It  is  also  true  that  the  younger  the  child 
the  more  often  must  the  reward  come  from  without.  The 
aim  of  the  teacher,  of  course,  is  so  to  arrange  the  situations 
that  the  activity  itself  shall  bring  its  own  reward;  but  that 
cannot  always  be  the  result,  and  incentives  and  rewards  of 
various  kinds  have  to  be  resorted  to.  The  teacher  will  show 
her  ingenuity  and  probably  secure  results  if  she  uses  the 
original  satisfiers  in  connection  with  the  formation  of  the 
habit.  With  little  children  this  satisfaction,  whatever  it 
may  be,  should  follow  immediately  the  activity  it  is  sup- 
posed to  reward.  It  would  be  unsafe  to  defer  rewarding  a 
child  of  five  for  good  pronunciation  or  clean  hands  until  the 
close  of  school ;  and  similarly  to  keep  a  child  of  seven  waiting 
for  his  reward  for  the  correct  holding  of  his  pen  or  any  other 
habit  until  the  end  of  the  week  or  month  would  be  foolish. 
In  either  case,  the  child  will,  of  course,  be  delighted  with  his 
pleasure ;  but  the  point  is  that  it  is  not  closely  enough  con- 
nected with  the  working  of  the  particular  synapsis  to  help 
fix  the  right  discharge. 

The  facts  concerning  the  greater  plasticity  of  the  earlier 
years  of  a  child's  life  as  compared  with  the  later  apply  also 
What  is  the  ^^  ^^y  period  in  habit  formation  when  compared 
force  of  a  with  any  later  period.  The  law  of  Primacy  has 
prece  ent  p^^^  framed  to  express  the  importance  of  the  be- 
ginning stages  in  the  formation  of  any  habit.  The  particular 
set  or  bent  given  by  the  first  few  responses  to  a  situation  have 


General  Tendencies,  Habit  and  Learning         195 

a  much  greater  effect  than  the  same  number  at  any  later 
period ;  hence,  the  way  the  laws  of  Exercise  and  Effect  operate 
at  the  beginning  of  any  habit-formation  series  is  particularly 
important,  and  more  so  for  children  than  for  adults.  This 
is  true  whether  the  habits  be  motor,  intellectual,  or  emotional. 
And  yet  how  often  this  fact  is  ignored  in  dealing  with  children 
in  the  home  and  in  school.  It  is  the  first  few  weeks  in  the 
new  class  that  are  so  influential  in  determining  the  discipline, 
the  attitude  towards  the  work,  and  towards  the  teacher; 
and  yet  how  many  teachers  say  that  "  it  takes  a  month  to 
settle  down,"  not  at  all  realizing  the  importance  of  the  be- 
ginning weeks  for  habit.  The  same  thing  holds  true  in  be- 
ginning a  new  subject,  or  in  meeting  a  new  friend ;  it  is  the 
first  impressions  that  count  for  so  much.  Again,  how  often 
it  is  true  that  the  habits  allowed  to  be  formed  at  the  begin- 
ning, or  in  the  early  stages,  are  absolutely  wrong ;  and  these, 
because  of  this  law  of  primacy,  are  most  difficult  to  break. 
Children  at  first  accustomed  to  having  each  sentence  occupy 
one  line  form  the  habit  of  moving  their  eyes  in  accordance 
with  that  arrangement,  and  therefore  find  it  most  difficult 
to  change  to  the  habit  of  picking  up  the  sentence  on  the  next 
line  and  reading  smoothly.  When  in  the  early  stages  of 
reading  children  have  been  allowed  to  pronounce  each  word 
to  themselves,  it  is  troublesome  to  break  the  habit  when  for 
the  sake  of  rapid  reading  it  is  necessary.  To  how  many 
children  geometry  has  been  a  most  tiresome  and  difficult 
subject  because,  in  dealing  with  the  first  few  propositions,  the 
habit  of  memorizing  them  was  formed.  It  is  the  violation 
of  this  law  that  makes  so  heavy  the  task  of  teaching  children 
to  study.  In  the  primary  and  early  grammar  grades  "  study- 
ing "  to  the  child  meant  memorizing,  and  that  sort  of  studying 
brought  satisfactory  results;  hence  when  that  sort  will  not 
satisfy  the  conditions,  and  teachers  in  the  upper  grammar 
grades  and  the  high  school  try  to  teach  them  what  the  studying 
really  means,  they  find  it  most  difficult,  because  of  the  "  set  " 


196  Psychology  of  Childhood 

given  by  these  early  habits.  The  time  to  begin  to  teach  a 
child  how  to  study  by  other  methods  as  well  as  rote  memo- 
rizing is  in  the  primary  grades  when  he  first  begins  to  use 
books. 

Other  principles.  —  When  the  habit  formed  is  a  voluntary 
one,  two  other  principles  arising  in  connection  with  these 
two  general  laws  are  important.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  a 
help  if  the  child  definitely  knows  what  the  habit  is  that  he  is 
trying  to  form.  Bagley  expresses  it  in  the  phrase  "  FocaHza- 
tion  plus  drill  in  attention."  This  preparation  in  attention, 
giving  of  a  mind's  set,  though  important  in  all  habit-forming, 
is  particularly  so  in  two  cases :  (i)  in  breaking  a  bad  habit 
and  (2)  in  producing  a  partial  habit,  or  set  of  responses  which 
will  later  need  to  be  altered  or  used  as  the  basis  for  the  evolu- 
tion of  principles.  Many  moral  habits  would  come  under 
this  latter  class.  In  the  second  place,  it  is  of  course  neces- 
sary to  gain  the  interest  and  cooperation  of  the  child.  Having 
that,  he  will  be  more  Hkely  to  carry  out  James'  maxims  for 
habit-formation,  "  Never  allow  an  exception  to  occur,"  and 
"  Take  the  first  opportunity  of  putting  into  practice  the  re- 
sponses you  wish  to  make  habitual."  To  gain  this  coopera- 
tion often  taxes  the  ingenuity  of  the  teacher,  but  the  fund  of 
original  interests  offer  a  solution  of  the  problem.  Once 
having  gained  it  much  of  the  difficulty  in  forming  the  habit 
is  overcome. 

IMPROVEMENT.  —  The  business  of  education  is  not 
merely  to  form  habits,  but  to  raise  them  to  their  highest 
level  of  efficiency ;  therefore,  the  psychology  of  improvement  ^ 
of  habits  is  very  important.  JThat  this  need  of  improvement 
is  not  kept  clearly  in  mind  by  teachers  is  shown  by  the  low 
level  of  efficiency  of  the  most  common  habits  despite  the  great 
possibilities  of  improvement  in  them.  All  the  work  that  has 
been  done  in  experimental  laboratories  and  elsewhere  on  all 

*  For  a  full  discussion  of  this  topic  see  Thorndike,  The  Psychology  of  Learn- 
ing. 


General  Tendencies ^  Habit  and  Learning         197 

forms  of  practice  experiments  points  to  the  same  conclusion, 
i.e.  that  all  functions  are  capablej)WmproveirLerLt,  and  niost 

of  them  enormously  so. In  adding  columns  of  figures  after 

sixty  minutes  of  practice,  children  have  shown  an  improve- 
ment in  speed  from  31  columns  to  50  columns,  and  in  ac- 
curacy from  24  correct  to  37  correct.  In  typewriting,  fifty 
half  hours  of  practice  changed  the  score  from  6  to  16  words 
per  minute.  Working  three  examples  in  mental  multiplica- 
tion a  day  for  20  days  resulted  in  an  improvement  of  100 
per  cent.  Thorndike  says,^  with  regard  to  ordinary  business 
habits,  that  "  the  majority  of  men  remain  far  below  their 
limit  of  efficiency  even  when  it  is  decidedly  in  their  interest 
to  approach  it,  and  when  they  think  they  are  doing  the  best 
that  they  are  capable  of.  I  venture  to  prophesy  that  the 
1000  bookkeepers  in,  say,  the  grocery  stores  of  New  York 
who  have  each  had  1000  hours  of  practice  at  addition,  are 
still,  on  the  average,  adding  less  than  two-thirds  as  rapidly 
as  they  could,  and  making  twice  as  many  errors  as  they  would 
at  their  limit." 

Laboratory  and  school  work  compared.  —  There  are  four 
^reasons  for  this  striking  difference  between  the  improvemenF 
^_habits  in  ordinary  school  practice,  and  under 
experimental  conditions.  MUren 

Consciousness  of  definite  goal.  —  One  is  that  the  improve  less 
factors  upon  which  improvement  depends  are  more  ^un^er  school 
^arefully  planned  for  in  the  laboratory  than  in  than  under 
school,     in  the  practice  experiments,  the  improve-  ^vJ^Js?"^'' 
ment  worked  for  is  always  very  definite  and  clear ; 
it  is  adding,  or  striking  a  dot,  or  memorizing  words,  or  type- 
writing by  the  sight  method.     There  is  no  confusion  in  the 
subject's  mind  as  to  just  what  he  is  to  do.     It  is  not  a  big 
general  sort  of  task  such  as  *'  to  do  better  work  in  arithmetic/i, 
^  "  to  present  neater  papers  in  English,"  —  but  one  or  two 
factors   involved   in   this   complex   task   are   analyzed   out, 

1  The  Psychology  of  Learning,  p.  179. 


198  Psychology  of  Childhood 

focused  in  the  mind  of  the  subject,  and  worked  for.  Hence 
the  improvement.  The  aim  must  be  definite,  and  must  be 
held  clearly  in  mind,  if  children  are  to  improve.  The  chief 
trouble  is  that  teachers  have  not  considered  their  work  from 
this  point  of  view.  They  often  do  not  have  clearly  in  their 
own  minds  just  what  habits  of  responses  in  terms  of  thought, 
Reeling,  or  action  they  are  working  for  in  any  given  subiept, 
much  less  having  it  clearly  defined  for  any  given  lesson.  The 
children,  therefore,  cannot  improve  very  fast  or  very  much. 

Speedy  working  of  law  of  effect,  —  A  second  reason  is  that 
the  law  of  effect  plays  its  part  immediately  in  these  practice 
experiments.  The  subject  knows  when  he  is  doing  well  or 
ill.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  making  the  connection  between 
the  satisfaction  or  the  discomfort  and  the  bonds  concerned, 
hence  the  effect  is  felt  at  its  full  strength.  This  condition  is 
often  not  allowed  for  in  school,  —  the  child  works  at  "  some- 
thing "  but  when  it  is  just  "  something,"  the  satisfyingness 
of  the  result  cannot  attach  to  anything  very  definitely.  And 
besides,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out,  it  is  too  often  true 
that  the  child  is  left  in  ignorance  of  the  result,  and  therefore 
the  law  of  effect  plays  no  part. 

Desire  to  improve.  —  A  third  yexy^  important  factor  in  all 
improvement  is  that  the  idea  of  improvement  itself  must  be 
prominent  in  the  mind  of  the  worker.  It  is  not  enough  to 
have  as  an  aim,  to  learn  to  add,  or  to  toss  balls,  or  to  spell, 
but  in  each  case  it  must  be  also  to  add  faster  than  yesterday, 
to  toss  the  ball  oftener,  or  to  have  more  words  right,  or  learn 
them  in  a  shorter  time.  Improvement  in  itself  must  be  a 
conscious  aim.  Meumann  ^  says,  "  the  arousal  of  the  will  to 
improve  is  of  fundamental  significance  in  all  mental  and 
bodily  improvement,"  and  yet  conditions  are  such  that  chil- 
dren in  their  learning  seldom  have  more  than  a  very  indefinite 
feeling  that,  of  course,  they  are  supposed  to  do  better ;  and 
this  is  true  often  because  they  do  not  Imow  when  they  im- 

^  The  Psychology  of  Learnmg,  p.  362. 


General  Tendencies y  Habit  and  Learning-        199 

prove  or  how  much.  The  change  in  the  attainment  of  chil- 
dren in  any  given  task  is  remarkable  when  conditions  are  so 
arranged  that  attention  is  focused  on  the  improvement. 
For  example,  a  sixth-grade  class  made  tremendous  improve- 
ment in  their  daily  spelling  when  the  teacher  adopted  the 
scheme  of  allowing  them  to  represent  the  daily  results  in  the 
fo^m  of  a  graph  which  was  kept  on  one  of  the  blackboards. 
It  is  not  safe  for  teachers  to  think  that  children  know  when 
they  improve.  They  do  not,  —  even  those  in  the  upper 
grammar  grades  do  not.  Their  standards  of  what  is  ex- 
cellent are  not  clearly  defined,  and  their  power  of  analyzing 
their  own  work  and  comparing  it  with  a  standard  is  unde- 
veloped. They  need  help  along  these  very  lines;  and  the 
only  way  to  give  it  is  to  be  sure  that  the  amoimt  of  improve- 
ment, or  the  lack  of  it,  is  very  clear  in  the  child's  mind. 

Interest  in  work. — A  fourth  factor,  which  would  seem   v 
hardly  to  need  mentioning  theoretically,  yet  which  is  still 
woefully  neglected,  is  that  of  interest.     Somehow  or  other,    ^ 
ii^ifimprpyement  is  tgjbe  steady  the  work  must  seem  worth   I 
while  to  the  child,  it  must  satisfy  some  need  of  his,  he  must  j 
be  interested  in  it.     In   the  practice   of   the  experimental/ 
laboratory  this  interest  ^is  present  and  helps  to  account  for 
the  results.     Sometimes  it  is  the  novelty  of  the  experiment 
that  attracts,  sometimes  it  is  the  desire  to  see  how  much  one 
can  do,  sometimes  it  is  the  joy  of  beating  some  one  else,  and 
sometimes  it  is  the  realization  that  improvement  along  this 
line  will  materially  aid  in  some  work  itself  interesting ;  what- 
ever the  reason,  the  general  rule  is  that  improvement  comes 
most  rapidly  when  the  whole  of  the  child  or  subject  is  in  the 
endeavor.     It  is  almost  pitiful  when  going  into  any  class- 
room and  starting  one  of  these  experiments,  to  see  the  vim 
and  eagerness  with  which  the  children  set  to  work.     More  of 
this  same  energy  could  be  called  upon  in  connection  with  the 
ordinary  school  work  if  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
practice  experiment  were  incorporated  in  it. 


200  Psychology  of  Childhood 

The  practice  curve.      Sharp  slant  at  first.  —  Two  charac- 
teristics of  the  practice  curve  are  important  for  students  of 
child  psychology,  —  the  rapid  rise  at  the  beginning, 
gestionsfor    and  the  presence  of  plateaus.     It  is  true  that  the 
teaching        improvement   at   the   beginning   of   any   practice 

mayweget  \        .  .  ,  j    .i  ^.i.  i     ..t. 

from  a  study  senes  IS  Very  rapid,  and  the  newer  the  work  the 
oftheprac-  niore  rapid  the  improvement.  Of  course  this 
means  that  children's  gain  at  first  in  a  new  subject  or 
phase  of  it  is  very  marked.  This  is  dangerous,  in  that  it 
offers  a  temptation  to  go  so  fast  in  the  learning  process  in 
the  early  stages  that  the  material  gained  or  the  skill  acquired 
is  only  just  over  the  threshold  of  learning,  is  not  fixed  firmly 
enough  to  serve  as  a  foundation  for  the  next  higher  level  of 
habits.  The  unwisdom  of  such  procedure  is  shown  in  the 
unnecessary  frequency  and  length  of  the  plateaus  which  occur 
later.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  for  eJ0&cient  and  economical 
learning  that  the  foundation  be  well  laid,  that  the  elementary 
habits  be  made  automatic  before  the  complex  work  that 
soon  appears  is  attempted.  Teachers  must  allow  for  and 
even  encourage  overlearning  in  the  early  stages  if  they  wish 
to  avoid  the  discouragement  of  the  plateaus  later. 

These  plateaus,  or  places  where  there  seems  to  be  no 
progress,  themselves  offer  a  problem.  They  seem  to  depend 
chiefly  on  two  conditions:  first,  the  lack  of  automatization 
of  elementary  habits,  which  has  already  been  mentioned ;  and 
second,  the  loss  of  interest.  When  one  of  these  pauses  in 
progress  occurs  it  is  highly  necessary  for  the  teacher  to  over- 
come it  as  soon  as  possible,  for  it  is  one  of  the  most  fruitful 
sources  of  discouragement.  In  order  to  overcome  it  the 
teacher  must  know  to  which  of  the  above-mentioned  causes 
it  is  due,  for  her  method  of  dealing  with  it  would  vary  as  the 
cause.  If  it  is  due  to  lack  of  automatization,  the  cure  would, 
of  course,  be  found  in  review;  the  onward  progress  would 
have  to  cease  for  the  time,  and  the  old  work  be  taken  up 
once  more  from  ever- varying  points  of  view,  with  interesting 


General  Tendencies,  Habit  and  Learning         201 

drills  until  the  necessary  automatism  in  response  is  acquired. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  pause  is  due  to  monotony  and  loss 
of  interest,  the  cure  might  be  found  in  an  added  spurt  in  the 
forward  movement,  or  an  entire  cessation  of  the  work  for  the 
time  being,  or  in  appealing  to  other  interests,  or  in  adding 
incentives.  In  any  case,  the  method  used  would  depend  upon 
the  cause  of  the  plateaus.  With  adults  it  may  be  safe  to 
leave  the  diagnosing  of  the  trouble  to  the  person  concerned, 
but  with  children  that  certainly  is  impossible.  They  are 
probably  not  conscious  of  the  lack  of  improvement,  and  they 
are  certainly  not  capable  of  ascertaining  the  cause.  This 
duty  must  rest  on  the  teacher,  and  it  is  not  an  easy  one  by 
any  means.  The  fact  remains,  however,  that  with  care  and 
alertness  on  her  part,  the  number  of  these  hindrances  to  steady 
improvement  can  be  materially  lessened,  and  the  amount  of 
time  spent  on  the  plateaus  which  do  occur  can  be  considerably 
diminished. 

Muscular  skill.  — Jt  Jias  been  pointed  out  by  those  who 
have  investigated  the  acquisition  and  improvement  of  acts 
of   skill   when   the   responses   are   complex,    that     •     ^  ^^ 

,  .  111.1  rr       •        •      1     •      •         How  do  the 

changes  m  method  which  are  effective  m  brmgmg  laws  apply 
about  improvement  are  at  first  hit  upon  uncon-  '^^/^''f.^f, 

11  ....  r     ^  ^  l        TtlOtor  sMl? 

sciously,  but  that  their  ultimate  usefulness  depends 
upon  their  being  made  conscious.  This  method  of  trying 
this  and  that  in  a  blind  effort  to  solve  the  situation  is  the 
animal  method  of  learning,  the  simple  trial  and  success 
jnethod,  and  it  seems  to  be  fmSaTniental  and  indispensable 
in  all  learning  which  involves  physical  skill.  Explaining  to 
a  child  how  to  do  something  is  useless  in  the  early  stages; 
only  after  he  has  made  the  coordination,  done  the  act  in  some 
fasfiion  or  other,  has  the  telling  any  content  for  him  at  all. 
This  suggests  the  need  of  much  more  experimentation  method, 
much  more  ''  trial  and  success  "  in  the  learning  of  little  chil- 
dren, and  in  the  beginning  stages  of  any  learning  involving 
muscular   responses,   even   with   adults.     After   the   learner 


202  Psychology  of  Childhood 

has  attempted  some  responses  by  his  own  initiative,  the  sug- 
gestions of  a  teacher  would  be  useful.  True,  if  left  to  him- 
self, he  might  in  time  stumble  on  a  good  method ;  but  waiting 
for  each  learner  to  do  so  is  not  only  lacking  in  economy,  but 
runs  the  risk  of  forming  bad  habits.  It  is  the  business  of  the 
teacher  to  watch  a  child's  endeavors,  and  at  the  opportune 
moment  to  suggest  valuable  changes  in  his  method.  Given 
in  that  way,  suggestions  are  more  likely  to  be  effective,  but 
given  preceding  any  movements  they  are  meaningless.  The 
explanation  to  a  child  of  the  value  of  holding  his  pencil,  or 
his  needle,  or  his  plane,  or  his  bat  just  so,  has  no  content  for 
him  imtil  he  has  attempted  to  do  it ;  the  suggestion  will  then 
have  an  apperceptive  basis,  and  the  reasonableness  of  it  is 
more  likely  to  be  clear  by  comparison.  Teachers  are  too 
afraid  to  let  children  try  things  out  for  themselves.  Of 
course,  the  danger  of  the  bad  effects  of  a  wrong  start  must  be 
guarded  against  by  a  close  watchfulness ;  but  trial  and  success 
with  selection  of  the  best  variation  of  response  is  the  only 
way  to  bring  about  effective  and  steady  improvement. 

Another  fact  in  connection  with  this  type  of  learning  must 
be  borne  in  mind.  Although  suggestions  of  change  of  method 
may  be  possible  in  the  early  stages,  still  a  time  comes  when 
the  act  is  so  complete  that  words  are  meaningless;  no  one 
can  tell  how  to  improve.  It  must  be  left  to  the  individual  to 
stumble  upon  the  necessary  change,  but  the  teacher  can  be 
of  help  in  bringing  the  change  to  attention  at  once,  instead  of 
letting  it  pass  perhaps  to  be  lost,  or  at  least  with  no  greater 
chance  of  its  occurring  again  rather  than  any  other  variation. 
There  comes  a  time  in  swinging  clubs  when  a  certain  supple- 
ness is  necessary  to  make  the  complicated  swings  go  smoothly ; 
in  dancing,  when  an  added  element  of  ease  must  come  if  the 
slide  is  to  be  graceful;  in  singing  when  a  fullness  of  tone  is 
needed;  and  in  painting  when  a  certain  lightness  of  touch 
conditions  the  smooth,  even  laying-on  of  the  wash.  No 
amount  of  telling  how  to  hold  the  club  or  bend  the  wrist,  of 


General  TettdencieSj  Habit  and  Learning        203 

how  to  hold  the  body  or  move  the  feet,  of  how  to  place  the 
voice  or  open  the  throat,  or  of  how  to  hold  the  brush,  will 
bring  the  desired  result.  It  must  come  of  itself.  But  if  a 
watchful  teacher  is  there  to  say,  "  There  now  you  have  it,  — 
that  is  the  right  quaUty  of  tone,"  '*  That  is  the  swing  you 
have  been  working  for,"  attention  is  immediately  attracted 
to  the  right  response,  and  it  is  made  more  likely  to  reoccur 
because  of  the  satisfy ingness  attached  to  the  commendation. 
IMPORTANCE  OF  HABITS.  —  There  is  no  subject  of 
child  psychology  more  important  than  this  one  of  habit- 
formation.  All  of  Ufe  is  dependent  on  habit,  all  of  progress 
is  conditioned  by  it.  Lying  at  the  root  of  all  civilization,  it 
is  the  bond  that  makes  society  stable,  the  element  that  gives 
character  to  the  individual  life,  for  character  after  all  must  be 
defined  in  terms  of  one's  habitual  modes  of  response.  Since 
habit  makes  up  so  large  a  part  of  life  surely  no  work  can  be 
more  important  for  a  teacher,  for  a  school  system,  for  any  and 
all  of  the  educational  forces  than  that  of  making  efficient  the 
factor  responsible  for  so  much  of  the  activities  of  the  human 
race.  The  teacher's  fundamental  duty  is  that  of  habit-forma- 
tion ;  for  only  so  can  she  make  possible  the  activities  leading 
to  independence  and  originality.  This  fact  was  pointed  out 
in  connection  with  memory,  which  is  habit  formation  in  the 
realm  of  mental  states ;  but  it  needs  to  be  emphasized  again 
and  again.  Not  too  many  habits,  but  too  few  is  the  danger 
that  teachers  must, avoid.  Having  too  few  habits  results  in 
insufficiency  of  control,  in  lack  of  material,  in  narrowness  of 
conduct  and  thought.  The  greater  the  number  of  good  habits 
that  an  individual  possesses  in  all  fields,  —  thought,  feeling, 
conduct,  —  the  more  efficient  will  he  be,  especially  if  among 
them  is  found  the  habit  of  forming  new  habits. 

Exercises 

I.   Describe  in  physiological  terms  the  risk  of  allowing  excep- 
tions when  breaking  an  undesirable  habit. 


204  Psychology  of  Childhood 

2.  Why  would  it  be  poor  training  to  have  forty  children  take 
turns  in  being  monitor  for  one  day  each? 

3.  What  explains  a  small  child's  objection,  "You're  telling  the 
story  all  different "  ? 

4.  Why  are  boys  ''willing  to  take  the  whipping  if  we  can  get 
the  swim"? 

5.  Explain  the  unwisdom  of  assigning  homework  on  a  new 
principle  in  algebra  before  it  is  understood. 

6.  Should  the  strongest  incentives  be  used  at  the  beginning 
or  at  the  plateau  stage  of  a  habit  ?    Why  ? 

7.  What  would  be  the  value  of  definite  lessons  in  table  man- 
ners? How  could  they  be  planned  so  as  to  "form  habits  as  they 
will  be  used"?  In  what  ways  does  the  high-school  quick-lunch 
counter  violate  this  precept  ? 

8.  In  teaching  children  to  sew,  is  it  better  to  show  them  com- 
pleted stitches  on  the  material  and  pictures  of  the  needle  making 
the  stitch,  or  to  demonstrate  by  movement  the  way  it  is  done? 
Why? 

9.  Should  the  resident  or  remote  sensations  be  attended  to 
first  in  forming  a  motor  skill  habit?  When  should  the  shift  in 
attention  be  encouraged  ? 

10.  Observe  first-  and  second-grade  children  while  writing,  and 
then  illustrate  each  of  these  points  made  by  James : 

Habit  saves  time. 
Habit  simplifies  movements. 
Habit  lessens  fatigue. 

Habit  diminishes  the  constant  attention  with  which  the  act  is 
performed. 
Habit  makes  movements  more  accurate. 

11.  Make  a  list  of  hygienic  habits  in  the  formation  of  which 
the  teacher  and  home  can  cooperate. 

12.  How  would  you  arrange  to  "reward  good  impulses"  so  as 
to  have  children  form  the  habit  of  truth- telling  ? 

13.  What  is  the  danger  to  a  child,  from  the  standpoint  of  habit- 
formation,  of  too  early  specializing  in  a  vocation  ? 

14.  What  means  would  you  take,  other  than  assigning  school 
grades,  to  make  progress  aimed  for  and  evident  in  such  habits  as : 
technique  of  piano-playing ;  looking  for  the  topic  of  a  lesson  assign- 


General  Tendencies,  Hahit^  and  Learning         205 

ment;  careful  observation  in  nature  study  work;  the  use  of 
references,  encyclopedias,  Poole's  index,  etc. ;  outlining  and  sum- 
marizing ? 

15.  Make  a  list  of  thirty  or  more  specific,  concrete  directions 
you  would  give  to  replace  the  abstract  one,  "Be  neat  in  your  work 
about  the  laboratory." 

16.  What  is  the  value  to  the  teacher  of  thus  analyzing  a  stand- 
ard or  an  activity? 

References  for  Reading 

Rowe,  Eahit  Formation,  chs.  8,  9,  10,  11. 

James,  Psychology,  ch.  4. 

Strayer  and  Norsworthy,  How  to  Teach,  chs.  4,  14. 


CHAPTER  XII 
PLAY 

One  of  the  characteristics  of  children  which  seems  per- 
fectly obvious,  and  upon  which  every  one  agrees  is  the  fact 
Why  do  ^^  ^^^^^  playfulness.  Childhood  is  the  playtime  of 
children  life.  Children  seem  quite  willing  to  devote  all 
^^  their  waking  time  and  energy  to  play,  provided 

this  tendency  has  not  been  inhibited  by  some  environmental 
condition.  To  play  is  as  much  a  part  of  their  original  nature 
as  to  eat,  or  to  sleep.  Just  what  is  the  source  in  original 
nature  has  been  discussed  for  years.  Why  do  children  play, 
and  why  do  they  play  in  just  the  ways  they  do?  Several 
theories  have  been  advanced,  each  containing  something  of 
value. 

THEORIES  OF  PLAY.  —  One  theory  is  that  advanced 
by  Schiller  and  Spencer.  They  claim  that  the  excess  energy 
of  brain  centers  discharges  into  play  activities.  It  is  because 
the  child  has  superabundaAce  of  energy  that  he  plays.  It  is 
no  doubt  true  that  a  well,  healthv,  rested  child  plays  better 
than  a  sick^Jr^il,  tiVed  one;  but  we  know  that  both  rhi1H|-pn 
and^  animals  play  when  they  are  sick^and  play  until  they  are 
exhausted.^  What,  then,  constitutes  "excess"  of  energy? 
This  theorVf  also/ does  not  account  for  the  particular  forms 
taken  bv  play.  There  must  be  some  reason~foFthe  lactlliat 
children  between  7  and  8 'enjoy  "  make-believe  "  games,  and 
that  between  9  and  1 1 '  the  running  games  are  so  popular ; 
and  that  the  puzzle  is  fascinating  at  about  12,  and  games  of 
skill  of  extraordinary  interest  in  the  teens.     In  other  words, 

206 


Play  207 

there  must  be  some  reason  for  the  fact  that  the  play  actiyi-  ^,^^ 
ties  of  childrenjoUow  a  certain  order  irrespective  of  environ; ^^ 
ment,  and  this_^pIanation  theSpencer  theory  does  not  give. 
"^  The  Theory  advanced  by  Professor.  Groos  is  thit^ay  is~a 
preparation  for  the  business  of  life.  He  thinks  that  in  the 
various  plays  children  practice  the  forms  of  activity  that  they 
will  later  need  and  upon  which  their  struggle  for  existence 
may  depend;  that  such  practice  is  necessary  for  the  future 
perfection  of  the  various  activities,  and  that  development 
of  the  individual  depends  on  it.  No  doubt  in  some  instances, 
especially  if  one  considers  primitive  man,  there  is  some  such 
correspondence ;  but  in  most  cases  the  preparatory  effect  of 
the  various  games  is  hard  to  trace.  For  instance,  it  might 
seem  valuable  to  children  of  unciviUzed  races  to  indulge  as 
they  do  in  the  running,  catching  games,  because  the  adult 
savage  depends  largely  on  his  agility  and  strength  for  his 
existence;  but  for  what  do  these  plays  prepare  a  civilized 
child  ?  —  For  catching  a  street  car  perhaps,  or  getting  out 
of  the  way  of  an  automobile.  The  preparation,  if  there  is 
one,  must  be  taken  in  a  very  general  sense,  for  no  close  corre- 
spondence can  be  found.  Even  if  it  does  exist,  as  the  theory 
suggests,  it  but  indicates  something  further  to  be  explained, 
for  **  Why  does  the  child  in  his  ignorance  of  adult  needs  react 
in  just  those  ways  which  do  thus  train  him?  The  explana- 
tion needs  itself  to  be  explained."  ^ 

Stanley  HalF  holds  strongly  to  the  atavistic  theory,  which 
is  bifta^edal  application  of  the  recapitulation  theory.  He 
says,  ''  I  regard  play  as  the  motor  habits  and  spirit  of  the  past 
of  the  race,  persisting  in  the  present,  as  rudimentary  functions 
sometimes  of  and  always  akin  to  rudimentary  organs.  The 
best  index  and  guide  to  the  stated  activities  of  adults  in  past 
ages  is  found  in  theHnstinctive,  untaught  and  non-imitative 
plays  of  children  which  are  the  most  spontaneous  and  exact 

^  A  Comparative  Study  of  the  Play  Activities  of  Adult  Savages  and  Civilized 
Children,  Appleton,  p.  77. 


2o8  Psychology  of  Childhood 

expressions  of  their  motor  needs.  .  .  .    Thus  we  rehearse 

the  activities  of  our  ancestors,  back  we  know  not  how  far, 

and  repeat  their  life  work  in  summative  and  adumbrated 

ways."  ^    The  same  criticisms  of  the  recapitulation  theory 

already  discussed  ^  will  apply  to  this  special  appHcation  of  it. 

i  Theoretically,  scientists  do  not  believe  that  human  nature 

)  has  undergone  such  definite  and  well-marked  changes  due  to 

/  the  stages  of  culture  through  which  it  has  passed.     Prac- 

I    tically,  it  is  difficult  on  this  theory  to  explain  why  boys  like 

V  to  go  swimming  and  to  live  in  caves  at  the  same  age,  or  why 

it  is  that  children  enjoy  playing  with  tovboats  and  trains 

b»^2I^tibpy  '"'^^nt  fl  bow  and  arro^  ^^  wTiythe  favorite  toy 

of  most  girls  under  nine  is  the  doll.     That  there  are  common 

elements  to  be  found  in  the  plays  of  all  children,  whether 

civilized   or  primitive,    tl^ere   can   be  no  question,  but  the 

explanation  is  probably  n6t  the  one  Dr.  Hall  supports. 

Professor  McDougall  in  his  "Social  Psychology,"  after  re- 
viewing the  various  theories  of  play,  suggests  that  the  essence 
of  playful  activity  is  found  in  the  motive  of  rivalry  or  emulation. 
He  says,  *'  A  motive  that  may  cooperate  with  others  in  almost 
all  games,  and  which  among  ourselves  is  seldom  altogether 
lacking,  is  the  desire  to  get  the  better  of  others,  to  emulate, 
to  excel.  This  motive  plays  an  important  part,  not  only  in 
games,  but  in  many  of  the  most  serious  activities  of  life,  to 
which  it  gives  an  additional  zest.  .  .  .  But  wherever  it 
enters  in,  it  is  recognized  that  it  imparts  something  of  a 
playful  character  to  the  activity."  ^  But  rivalry  does  not 
enter  into  many  of  the  plays  of  children.  Some  plays, 
the  make-believe  plays,  the  doll  plays,  and  the  play  of  an 
infant  are  noticeably  lacking  in  such  an  element.  More- 
over, the  presence  of  rivalry  when  two  individuals  or  corpo- 
rations are  fighting  for  the  upper  hand  by  no  means  changes 
their  activity  into  a  playful  one.     If  carried  out  fully,  this 


1  Hall,  Youth,  p.  74.    "  ^  Chap.  II,  pp.  33,  f. 

»  McDougall,  Social  Psychology,  pp.  11 2-1 13. 


I 


Play  209 

suggestion  would  involve  a  differentiation  of  each  instinct 
into  two,  —  one  the  serious  form,  and  the  other  the  playful 
form  which  is  always  accompanied  by  the  spirit  of  rivalry, 
and  this  does  not  seem  to  be  true.  It  seems  impossible,  then, 
to  take  this  theory  as  a  full  explanation  of  the  play  impulse, 
although  of  course  it  has  an  element  of  truth  in  it. 

Miss  Appleton,  in  her  comparative  study  of  play  already 
referred  to,  advances  a  biological  theory  of  play.  She  thinks 
that  play  is  dependent  on  the  structure  of  the  body,  and  that 
the  activity  is  of  such  character  as  will  satisfy  the  needs  of 
the  growing  body.  .  "  With  the  infant,  the  head  or  arm  muscles 
being  strongest,  control  the  somatic  type  of  play,  together 
with  the  developing  sense  organs  of  the  nervous  system  and 
the  brain.  Sensations,  coming  through  the  sheen  of  light, 
the  shake  of  the  rattle,  the  throwing  of  the  ball,  are  his  mental 
toys  and  his  delight.  Later,  when  stronger  muscles  co- 
operate in  stronger  and  more  complex  movements  and  when 
further  brain  development  makes  perception  and  appercep- 
tion possible,  activity  of  the  whole  body  is  the  somatic  type, 
while  mentally  imagination,  volition  and  imitation,  become 
his  toys.  And  so  we  hear,  '  Tell  me  a  story,'  and  see,  a 
little  later,  the  story  epitomized  in  dramatic  representation. 
...  Is  it  not  significant  that  whatever  the  type  of  play 
may  be,  it  just  keeps  pace  with  the  type  of  somatic  growth? 
And  does  not  the  impulse  to  exercise  these  growing  parts 
furnish  all  the  explanation  that  is  needed  for  the  existence  of 
the  play  activity?  "  ^ 

This  last  theory  seems  to  account  for  the  facts  better  than 
.any  one  of  the  others.  In  Chapter  II  it  was  shown  how  the 
instinctive  tendencies  to  action,  to  feeling,  and  to  thought 
were  dependent  on  the  development  of  certain  connections 
in  the  nervous  system,  how  this  development  always  followed 
the  same  general  order,  how  the  readiness  of  the  nervous 
system  to  act  depended  not  only  on  its  development,  but  upon 

•  ^  Appleton,  op.  cit.,  pp.  78-79. 


2IO  Psychology  of  Childhood 

the  environment,  the  condition  of  the  individual  as  to  fatigue, 
comfort,  etc.,  and  the  experience  immediately  preceding.  It 
was  also  emphasized  that  in  actual  life,  many  responses  might 
be  ready  at  the  same  time,  and  that  the  situations  calling  out 
the  responses  are  not  simple  one-to-one  affairs,  but  extremely 
complex,  often  overlapping  each  other,  so  that  at  one  minute 
one  instinct  might  be  the  response,  and  at  the  next  instant 
another. 

MEANING  OF  TERM. —  Bearing  all  these  facts  in 
mind,  we  see  that  so-called  play  resolyes  itself  into  the  func- 
Whenisan  tioning  of  gradually  ripening  instincts  evoked  by 
activity  situations  not  stamped  with  the  economic  need 
called  play?  ^Y]i^Yi  would  lead  us  to  call  the  activity  work. 
Given  the  same  elements  present  in  the  nervous  system  but 
a  primitive  environment  with  its  urgent  physical  needs,  the 
probability  is  that  the  responses  of  action  would  not  be  called 
play  because  of  the  service  they  would  render.  As  Thorndike 
says,  "  If  infants  from  a  year  to  three  years  of  age  lived  in 
such  a  community  as  a  human  settlement  seems  likely  to 
have  been  twenty-five  thousand  years  ago,  their  restless 
examination  of  small  objects  would  perhaps  seem  as  utilitarian 
as  their  father's  hunting."^  In  many,  many  instances,  be- 
cause of  the  protection  and  care  of  the  parents,  because  of 
the  difference  between  primitive  and  civilized  society,  be- 
cause of  the  complexity  of  the  environment,  children  respond 
in  ways  not  immediately  useful,  and  we  say  they  play.  For 
example,  we  call  it  playing  when  ten-year-olds  have  a  pillow 
fight  or  a  game  of  chase,  when  they  model  a  snow-man  or 
build  a  bridge  or  a  dam  across  a  small  stream ;  but  were  the 
opponents  really  inimical,  the  plastic  material  clay,  the 
country  in  danger  of  a  flood  we  should  consider  the  activities 
work.  So,  too,  very  small  differences  in  the  situation  are 
sometimes  big  enough  to  call  out  different  responses.  A 
bottle  given  a  hungry  baby  will  stimulate  the  food-taking 
^  Original  Nature  of  Man,  p.  146.  • 


Play  211 

responses ;  given  to  the  same  baby  when  satisfied  may  stimu- 
late manipulation  and  vocalization.  In  the  latter  case  we 
should  call  it  playing  but  not  in  the  former;  not  that  the 
baby  has  two  sets  of  responses,  one  serious  and  the  other  playful, 
but  that  the  slight  difference  in  his  physiological  condition 
makes  him  respond  in  the  first  case  so  that  we  recognize  the 
economic  need,  and  in  the  second  so  that  we  do  not.  The 
need  exists  for  the  baby  each  time,  but  in  different  form. 

Not  one  instinct,  but  a  field  for  many.  —  \i  this  is  true, 
then  there  is  no  one  specialized,  isolated  tendency  we  can 
call  the  play  instinct  with  definite  responses  bound  to  definite 
situations;  rather  it  should  be  regarded  as  the  arousal  of 
many  instincts  combined,  depending  on  the  readiness  of  the 
neurones,  the  general  law  of  exercise  and  specially  subject 
to  the  law  of  effect.  In  few  cases,  if  any,  does  an  instinct  or 
tendency  appear  alone ;  several  are  "  ready  "  at  the  same  time 
and  the  action  of  each  modifies  the  others.  The  law  of  readi- 
ness determines  the  kind  of  play  engaged  in  at  different 
periods.  Tmis,  running  and  chasing  is  not  a  feature  of  play 
under  eighteen  months,  nor  dramatic  representation  under 
three  years,  nor  competition  under  six  or  seven,  nor  intellec- 
tual games  much  before  ten,  nor  social  dancing  with  the  other 
sex  till  about  fifteen.  Similarly,  the  rattle  that  pleases  the 
baby  is  ignored  later,  the  woolly  lamb  on  wheels  dragged 
down  the  street  by  the  two-year-old  would  disgust  the  nine- 
year-old,  the^igh^-year-o]d's  doll  no  longer  interests  the(f^^ 
teen-year-oldr~^he  law  of  exercise  controls  the  tendencies  so 
^hat  experience  and  learning  quickly  modify  what  in  the  play 
or  work  was  the  outcome  of  original  nature.  The  law  of 
effect  determines  the  length  of  time  children  will  play ;  their 
persistence  till  skill  is  acquired  in  roller-skating,  top-spinning, 
pitching  ball,  hopscotch  and  whatnot,  above  all,  makes  the 
occupation,  for  them,  play  rather  than  work. 

Amusement,  games,  sports.  —  Several  forms  of  enjoyment 
are  included  under  the  general  name  play.     There  is  amuse- 


212  Psychology  of  Childhood 

jngnt^  which  presupposes  a  somewhat  passive  attitude  on  the 
part  of  the  person  enjoying:  thus,  we  amuse  children  by 
showing  them  pictures,  telHng  them  stories,  taking 
Yntsorts^'  them  to  a  conjurer's  performance.  Games  are 
activities  characterized  sometimes  by  the  use  of  dramatic 
^pimT^^  imagination  to  a  definite  end,  chiefly  by  the  pres- 
ence of  rules  of  varying  degrees  of  complexity,  the 
element  of  competition,  frequently  by  a  limitation  of  the  num- 
ber who  may  participate.  For  example,  we  have  games  of 
charades,  cross-tag,  dominoes,  going  to  Jerusalem,  checkers, 
croquet,  football,  and  the  like.  Sports  rather  connote  athletics 
qut  of  doors,  often  with  contest  against  physical  nature,  such 
as  swimming,  boating,  races,  though  it  may  mean  games,  such 
as  polo,  golf,  or  ''  indoor  sports,"  such  as  volley  ball.  This 
terminology  obviously  overlaps  to  some  extent;  but  with 
these  subtracted,  the  term  play  is  reserved  for  the  free  play 
of  very  young  cKildfen,  for  random,  unattended- to  move- 
ments, such  as  the  nervous  occupation  of  a  lecturer's  hands, 
or  for  some  activity  less  definitely  organized  and  regulated 
than  is  a  game,  such  as  *'  playing "  horse,  Indian,  dolls. 
There  is  no  sharp  Hne  of  division  in  the  use  of  the  terms^.,. 

Play,  work,  and  drudgery.  —  Of  more  significance  is  our 
thought  of  all  forms  of  play  as  distinct  from  work  or  drudgery. 
How  does  The  difference  here  is  not  primarily  one  of  the  kind 
play  differ  of  activity,  but  one  of  attitude.  No  given  activity 
from  wor  ^^^  arbitrarily  be  placed  in  either  class.  Listening 
to  a  concert,  working  problems  in  mathematics,  sewing  or 
painting,  attending  a  reception,  playing  a  game  of  whist, 
taking  a  walk,  working  in  the  garden,  —  any  one  of  these  may 
be  work  of  the  hardest  kind  to  one  person  and  the  most  de- 
lightful play  to  another.  This  difference  in  attitude  is  caused 
by  the  difference  in  certain  characteristics  of  the  activity. 
When  the  activity  is  considered  as  work,  it  is  being  engaged 
in,  not  for  its  own  sake,  but  because  of  some  result  worth 
while,  only  to  be  reached  by  means  of  the  given  activity. 


Play  213 

The  eye  of  the  worker  is  fixed  outside  of  the  activity  on  the 
result  beyond.  When  the  activity  seems  play  to  the  individ- 
ual, the  process  itself  seems  worth  while;  he  is  concerned 
only  with  the  activity,  that  in  itself  satisfies  him.  The  same 
result  may  be  obtained  as  in  the  former  case,  but  it  is  not  the 
most  important  thing  to  the  one  engaged  in  the  activity. 
When  it  is  work,  the  process  is  merely  a  means  to  a  desirable 
end,  but  when  it  is  play  the  two  are  fused,  and  the  process 
with  its  result  seem  desirable.  For  example,  the  boys  who 
were  paid  to  clear  the  potato  patch  of  potato  bugs  found  it 
most  disagreeable  work  at  first,  and  did  it  only  to  secure  the 
money  or  escape  the  punishment  for  disobedience,  or  both. 
But  when  the  competition  and  make-believe  elements  were 
introduced  by  some  bright  spirit,  and  the  potato  bugs  became 
pearls  and  each  boy  tried  to  get  the  largest  collection,  — 
then  the  money  received  in  payment  was  no  longer  the  largest 
factor,  but  the  process  itself  became  of  absorbing  interest. 

-.The  work  attitude  is  brought  about  because  the  activity 
in  question  for  some  reason  is  not  adapted  to  the  individual's 
capacity  at  the  moment  it  is  indulged  in.  This  lack  of 
adaptation  may  be  due/, to  fatigue;  often  some  occupation 
begun  with  zest  becomes  drudgery  before  it  is  completed  be- 
cause of  the  fatigue  occasioned.  A  child  who  usually  con- 
siders his  gymnasium  period  as  play  may,  because  of  the  late 
hours  of  the  night  before,  find  it  hard  work .^  Lack  of  par- 
ticular ability  may  be  the  cause  of  the  lack  of  adaptation. 
Music,  or  art,  or  handwork,  or  athletics  may  always  be  work 
for  certain  children  simply  because  they  lack  ability  along 
these  lines.  -^  Sometimes  the  lack  of  adaptation  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  activity  has  been  planned  by  an  adult  who  has 
^not  taken  into  proper  consideration  the  stage  of  development 
of  the  child.  When  this  occurs,  the  activity  being  beyond 
his  stage  of  development,  calHng  for  powers  and  tendencies 
not  yet  ripe,  or,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  calling  for  tendencies 
which  have  been  left  behind,  the  process  satisfies  no  need 


214  Psychology  of  Childhood 

on  the  part  of  the  child.  The  only  motive  he  can  have  ii 
the  pursuance  of  it  is  to  satisfy  the  adult  from  whom  the 
initiative  has  come,  who  has  planned  the  activity.  Undj 
these  conditions  it  is  impossible  for  the  child  to  throw  himself 
wholly  into  the  task,  his  attention  is  divided  between  the 
process  and  the  end,  and  divided  attention  is  always  ac- 
companied by  strain.  Were  the  activity  suited  to  the  child, 
if  it  called  out  some  developing  instinct  or  power,  the  process 
and  end  would  not  be  disparate  but  a  logical  whole,  and  the 
attention  there^re  of  a  unified,  concentrated  t3^e. 

To  sum  up/the  attitude  rather  than  the  occupation  deter- 
mines whether  a  person  is  at  play,  work,  or  drudgery.  Play 
means  a  feeling  of  freedom,  presence  or  absence  of  a  con- 
scious purpose,  enjoyment  of  the  procedure  for  its  own  sake, 
a  varied  and  rather  wide  range  of  activity,  adaptation  to 
ability  and  stage  of  development,  immediate  attention. 
Work  means  action  directed  by  one's  self  or  others,  a  con- 
scious purpose  in  the  result  to  be  attained  whether  or  not 
there  is  enjoyment  of  the  procedure,  a  fairly  narrow  range 
and  variety  of  activity,  possible  lack  of  complete  adaptation 
to  the  individual,  probably  derived  attention.  Drudgery 
connotes  that  the  work  is  imposed  by  another,  that  the  pur- 
pose is  forgotten  or  so  remote  as  not  to  motivate  —  in  any 
case  the  purpose  is  not  within  the  present  procedure  —  there 
is  frequently  much  repetition  of  a  narrow  range  of  activity, 
probably  little  adaptation  to  the  individual,  most  likely 
forced  attention. 

Of  course,  it  is  true  that  in  life  situations  there  is  not  the 
sharp  distinction  between  play,  work,  and  drudgery  here 
suggested;  but  it  is  true  that  at  the  extremes  we  find  these 
characteristics.  Fully  to  enjoy  some  play  entails  work;  to 
realize  one's  purpose  in  either  work  or  play  may  involve  some 
drudgery.  Of  immense  value  is  the  fact  that  children  in 
their  free,  social  play  learn  the  necessity  of  work  and  some- 
times put  in  a  good  deal  of  attentive,  persevering  effort  to 


Play  215 

jichieve  the  desired  end.  For  example,  some  little  girls  want 
||0  play  tea  party ;  but  before  they  do  they  must  wash  the 
;ea  set,  go  out  to  pick  some  berries  and  lay  the  table.  In 
i,nother  setting  this  might  be  work,  but  when  felt  as  a  neces- 
jary  preparation  to  the  play  it  is  done  with  much  of  the  play 
pirit.  Some  boys  anxious  to  figure  as  the  band  in  a  mihtary 
)arade  will  carefully  practice  the  technique  of  the  mouth 
irgan,  drum,  whistle,  or  other  chosen  noise-maker  in  a  way 
hat  would  rejoice  the  heart  of  a  teacher.  An  artist  needing 
,  particular  type  of  head  for  the  model  in  his  picture  may 
pend  weeks,  perhaps,  in  search;  but  the  joy  of  hia  art  is 
uch  that  much  of  the  drudgery  connected  with  the  quest  is 
ost  in  the  satisfaction  of  the  end  to  be  gained. 

SIGNIFICANCE    OF   THE   PLAY   SPIRIT.  —  It   is   be- 
:ause  of  this  vital  relationship  between  work  and  play  that 
)Uy  has  been  called  one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  ^hy  should 
iducation.     It  is  the  aim  of  educators  to-day  to  thepiay 
ake  more  of  this  same  play  spirit  into  the  school-  ^yalilnlhe 
oom.     So  to  arrange  the  school  work  that  much  of  school- 
t  could  be  done  in  the  play  spirit  would  be  a  tre-  ^^°^ 
nendous  gain.     So  long  as  the  school  organization  is  as  it 
is,  and  so  long  as  civilized  ideals  hold  sway,  work  and  even 
irudgery  must  have  a  place  in  the  education  of  every  child, 
3ut  when  possible  the  play  spirit  must  be  encouraged,  be 
planned  for  if  results  worth  while  educationally  are  to  be 
obtained.     For  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  play  spirit 
ippears  whenever  activities  are  suited  to  the  individual's 
:apacity  and  stage  of  development,  and  in  themselves  satisfy 
1  need. 

In  emphasizing  the  need  of  the  play  spirit  in  education 
two  facts  must  be  borne  in  mind.  First,  that  the  play  spirit 
is  not  synonymous  with  the  free  physical  activities  of  the 
:hild.  It  is  much  broader.  It  is  not  confined  to  any  type 
af  activity,  nor  to  any  age.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  in- 
tellectual responses  just  as  truly  as  of  the  physical ;  imagina- 


2i6  Psychology  of  Childhood 


tion,  observation,  judgment,  and  reasoning  are  used  in  play 
The  constructive  and  aesthetic  arts  with  their  fusion  of  the 
physical,  intellectual,  and  emotional  factors  are  often  char- 
acterized by  the  same  spirit.  In  our  thinking  of  play  we 
have  been  prone  to  think  of  the  earliest  manifestations  of  it 
in  the  field  of  physical  activity  principally,  and  thereby  ha\  e 
neglected  the  more  important  features.  Any  activity  en- 
gaged in  primarily  for  its  own  sake,  which  is  in  itself  satisf}'- 
ing,  is  characterized  by  the  play  spirit.  The. second  fact  to 
be  borne  in  mind  is  that  play  does  not  mean  being  amused,^ 
"ah'dlt  is  not  synonymous  with  aimlessness,  and  lack  of  results.] 
Again,  the  error  has  been  committed  of  taking  the  first  im-i 
mature  manifestations  to  be  the  earnest  for  all.  Think  howJ 
much  of  time  alid^energy  a  ten-year-old  spends  on  his  play,  — 
how  his  resources  of  'ingenuity,  imitation,  tact,  judgment, 
perseverance,  are  all  taxed.  And  think,  too,  of  the  results 
he  gets,  the  ends  he  attains.  And  if  the  field  of  adult  activity 
be  examined,  the  conclusions  must  soon  be  reached  that  most 
of  the  results  worth  while*  to  the  world,  whether  in  the  field 
of  industry,  invention,  science,  art,  philosophy,  or  social  ad- 
ministration have  been  reached  by  nien  an'd  women  who  were 
working  in  the  play  spirit,  j^reat  -  i-esults  can  never  be, 
obtained  when  the  individtial  with  divided  attention,  with 
the  initiative  coming  from  another,  is  striving  primarily  for 
the  remote  ends  of  an  activity.  It  is  only  when  the  activity 
grips  him,  when  in  it  he  sees  value,  when  it  satisfies  a  need  of 
his  nature  that  great,  far-reaching  results  are  possible.  The 
great  philosophers,  teachers,  artists,  poets,  musicians,  in- 
ventors, —  geniuses  in  any  field  of  human  endeavor,  have  all 
done  their  work  in  the  play  spirit.  And  this  is  the  ideal  of 
the  school,  and  of  all  education ;  so  to  arrange  things  that  the 
child,  the  youth,  the  adult  may  be  able  to  a  greater  and 
greater  extent  to  do  his  daily  work  in  the  pla:y  spirit. 

AGE  DIFFERENCES  IN  PLAY  INTERESTS.  —  As  the 
plays   of  children   depend   upon   their   developing  instincts 


I 


Play  217 

md  powers,  changes  m  the  plays  must  occur  as  these  inborn 
:endencies  wax  and  wane.  The  order  of  this  development 
,s  away  from  mere  physical  and  sensory  activity 
:owards  that  involving  more  of  the  intellectual  of  play  aZ  * 
"actors;  away  from  the  individualistic  towards  enjoyed  at 
:he  social  and  competitive.  Besides  this  change  ag^gP 
n  the  forms  used  in  play,  there  are  other  changes 
)f  equal  importance.  Imitation  plays  a  larger  and  larger 
•61e.  The  instinctive  basis  of  the  plays  of  children  under 
ive  is  very  evident,  but  that  is  not  true  of  the  older  children. 
The  form  that  „the  activities  take,  the  particular  plays  or 
^ames  used  depends  on  the  particular  environment.  Tradi- 
ion  and  custom  determine  the  plays  of  a  locality.  The  ele- 
nents  due  to  original  nature  are  only  with  difficulty  discernible 
n  the  mass  of  elements  that  have  been  added  through  imita- 
:ion.  And  yet  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  plays  of  chil- 
iren  of  about  the  same  age,  in  widely  different  parts  of  the 
ATorld,  are  alike  in  the  essential  characteristics,  due  of  course 
:o  the  part  played  by  original  nature.  Another  change 
;vhich  takes  place  is  in  the  complexity  of  the  activity.  The 
jarly  plays  are  comparatively  simple,  but  as  the  child  grows 
)lder  and  the  number  of  inborn  tendencies  increase,  overlap, 
md  merge,  the  plays  are  correspondingly  complex.  This 
iiange  results  in  greater  organization  and  the  plays  become 
^ames,  with  rules  which  must  be  carried  out  by  all  the  par- 
ticipants. The  increasing  complexity  and  organization  of 
the  plays  necessitate  the  introduction  of  elements  of  work 
within  the  activity  as  means  to  an  end. 

Roughly,  the  kinds  of  play  enjoyed  at  different  ages  are 
is  follows :  during  infancy  sensory  and  perceptual  plays 
Dredominate,  with  the  developing  tendencies  to  general 
physical  activity,  locomotion,  manipulation,  and  vocalization, 
rhe  responses  are  crude  and,  at  first,  seem  almost  the  result 
}f  random  movements.  Before  seven,  children  engage  in 
play  rather  than  play  games ;  it  is  preeminently  the  toy  age, 


2i8  Psychology  of  Childhood  f 

with  imitation  and  imagination  as  new  developing  factors. 
From  seven  to  ten  play  is  decreasingly  solitary,  increasingly 
competitive,  involving  much  physical  exercise  such  as  run- 
ning, jumping,  throwing,  hitting,  climbing,  also  quieter 
manipulation,  more  sustained  group  dramatization,  collect- 
ing and  hoarding.  From  ten  to  twelve  or  so  the  greatest 
variety  of  games  is  played;  for  to  the  tendencies  already 
functioning  is  added  more  general  mental  activity  helped 
out  by  wider  information,  shown  in  guessing  games,  wider 
reading,  the  interest  in  language.  Abilities  are  developed 
by  rivalry  in  ball  play,  swimming,  construction  work,  jump- 
ing the  rope,  doll-dressmaking,  the  use  of  words  and  the  like, 
while  there  is  an  added  love  of  more  passive  movements  such 
as  swinging.  The  rise  of  the  gang  spirit,  inciting  to  greater 
possibiHties  of  adventure,  is  one  of  the  most  important  tend- 
encies of  this  pubescent  age.  In  the  teens,  both  McGhee 
and  Croswell  ^  show  that  doll  play,  chasing,  imitative  and 
mere  make-believe  games  decline,  whereas  rivalry,  team- 
work, games  of  chance,  rhythmic  movement,  athletics  of  all 
sorts  gain  in  favor.  Now  is  the  time  of  highly  organized 
activity,  and  of  the  elimination  of  many  earlier  forms  of 
imaginative  play.  Adolescent  boys  are  more  fond  of  running 
games  than  are  girls,  speciahze  on  fewer,  organize  better, 
play  intellectual  games,  and  games  of  chance  less. 

This  description  is  clearly  inadequate  as  an  analysis  of  the 
tendencies  which  show  themselves  in  the  playful  activities 
of  any  period.  This  inadequacy  is  unavoidable  from  the 
very  nature  of  the  case.  The  fact  that  the  tendencies  them- 
selves are  so  complex,  that  they  do  not  act  independently, 
that  the  action  of  each  one  affects  all  the  others,  that  they 
vary  as  elements  and  conditions  in  the  situations  vary,  and 
that  the  environment  affects  so  materially  the  action  of 'all 
tendencies,  —  all  these  conditions  make  a  clear-cut,  simple 
analysis  of  the  plays  of  various  ages  impossible.    All  that  a 

^  Ped.  Sem.,  Vol.  6,  p.  314.    Ped.  Sem.,  Vol.  7,  p.  459. 


Play  219 

tudent  of  children  can  do  is  to  point  out  the  general  line  of 
)rogress  of  activities  that  are  playful  due  to  the  gradual 
levelopment  of  the  innate  tendencies  from  those  that  are 
)rimarily  sensory,  physical,  individual,  purposeless,  and 
inorganized,  to  those  that  are  primarily  intellectual  or  emo- 
ional,  and  social,  and  in  which  purpose  and  organization 

)lay  a  much  larger  part.     The  change  from  level  to  level  Js 

L  very  gradual  one,  and  the  difference  is  not  so  much  in  the 
ncorporation  of  new  elements  as  in  the  change  of  emphasis 
m  those  already  presei^t. 

The  educational  value  of  the  free  play  of  children  increases 
IS  these  changes  take  place.  In  their  play  children  learn  to 
)bserve  quickly,  to  judge,  to  weigh  values,  to  pick  out  essen- 
ials,  to  give  close  attention ;  they  learn  the  value  of  coopera- 
:ion,  to  recognize  the  rights  of  others  as  well  as  to  insist  on 
:heir  own  being  recognized ;  they  learn  the  meaning  of  freedom 
:hrough  law ;  they  learn  the  value  and  function  of  work  and 
:he  joy  of  accomplishment.  No  wonder  that  play  is  regarded 
Dy  many  as  the  most  important  educational  factor  of  them 
dl.  A  child  who  does  not  play  not  only  misses  much  of  the 
loy  of  childhood,  but  he  can  never  be  a  fully  developed  adult. 
He  will  lack  in  many  of  the  quaHties  most  worth  while  be- 
:ause  many  of  the  avenues  of  growth  were  unused  and  neg- 
ected  during  the  most  plastic  period  of  his  life. 

DIRECTED  PLAY.  Provision  of  space.  —  It  is  because 
to-day  educators  are  more  alive  than  ever  before  to  the  need 
Df.play  that  the  movements  for  playgrounds  in  j^  what  way 
the  cities  and  for  supervised  play  everywhere  are  can  play  he 
50  widespread.  Although  it  is  almost  impossible  ^^^^^^^^^^^ 
to  inhibit  all  phases  of  play,  still  lack  of  facilities  will  inhibit 
certain  phases.  Plays  that  are  largely  physical,  which  in- 
clude running,  chasing,  throwing,  jumping,  swinging,  as  well 
as  the  various  ball  games  need  space  in  which  to  be  played. 
Crowded  city  streets  offer  no  inducements  and  the  law  for- 
bids their  use  as  playgrounds.     Consequently  the  bodies  of 


220  Psychology  of  Childhood 

children  in  most  slum  districts  suffer  for  want  of  legitimate 
exercise.  Plays  which  involve  numbers,  which  necessitate 
group  work  and  team  work,  also  need  space.  Lacking  a 
place  for  such  games  the  characters  and  mental  alertness  of 
children  suffer.  The  opportunities  for  the  development  of 
honesty,  of  'generosity,  of  cooperation,  of  sacrificing  indi- 
vidual pleasure  for  the  good  of  the  majontv  afe^iessened ; 
all '  these  an^  many  more*  of  the  characteristics  jmosf  worth 
while  in  adults  are  poorly  developed,  simply  because  the 
children  did  not  have  a  place  to  play^  Opportimities  in  the 
way  of  playgrounds  more  or  less  well  equipped  are  absoiutel}' 
necessary  for  the  rich  development  of  childhood.  Later  on, 
it  is  equally  important  that  youth  should  learn  the  use  of 
the  school  buildings,  club  rooms,  etc.  Play  does  not  cease 
with  childhood  though  the  character  of  it  changes.  Oppor- 
tunities for  the  development  in  the  playful  spirit  of  the  higher 
intellectual  and  emotional  factors  must  be  provided  if  we  are 
to  make  use  of  all  that  nature  has  supplied. 

Supervision,  wise  and  unwise.  —  Supervision  and  direction 
of  play  offer  another  opportunity  although  of  a  different 
character.  Not  only  must  there  be  nothing  to  inhibit  the 
development  of  an  inborn  tendency,  but  often  such  a  tend- 
ency needs  stimulating.  The  wise  guidance  and  suggestion  • 
of  ah  adult  will  often  furnish  opportunities  which  the  children, 
if  left  to'  themselves,  would  never  have  discovered.  Sucl: 
supervision  will  also  conserve  the  nature  of  individual  chil- 
dren, in  some  cases  protecting  them  from  themselves,  ir 
others  encouraging  them  to  fresh  endeavors.  The  social 
intellectual,  and  moral  elements  are  more  likely  to  be  stressec 
and  encouraged  if  there  is  supervision  than  otherwise.  The 
children  are  not  allowed  to  play  on  a  lower  level  of  develop- 
ment when  they  are  ready  for  a  higher.  The  possibility  ol 
work  in  play  is  made  much  of,  although  the  relative  value  o] 
the  two  is  emphasized.  Wise  supervision,  of  course,  does  nol 
force  but  only  suggests  and  encourages. 


Play  221 

Valuable  as  supervision  is,  not  all  play  should  be  super- 
^sed.  Complete  freedom  is  handicapped  by  the  presence  of 
in  adult.  When  play  is  supervised  there  are  some  serious 
dangers  which  must  be  avoided  if  it  is  to  be  a  truly  educa- 
tional factor.  All  these  dangers  grow  out  of  the  fact  that 
idults  do  not  in  the  first  place  fully  understand  the  nature 
ind  value  of  play,  or  in  the  second  place  do  not  study  closely 
enough  the  stage  of  development  of  the  children  they  are 
supervising.  As  a  result,  it  is  often  the  case  that  the  teacher 
or  supervisor  introduces  plays  for  which  the  children  are  not 
ready.  It  is  a  question  whether  the  kindergarten  has  not 
erred  in  insisting  on  so  many  group  games  at  a  time  when  the 
child's  interest  is  so  predominantly  individuahstic.  The 
reverse  of  this  is  true  in  the  primary  classes,  and  the  question 
is  whether  the  primary  school  has  offered  enough  oppor- 
tunity for  the  development  of  the  group  game.  It  is  diffi- 
cult for  the  supervisor  not  to  emphasize  the  intellectual  factors 
along  the  line,  and  all  ages  of  children  are  not  equally  ready 
for  that  phase  of  play.  Another  danger  is  that  the  super- 
visor will  push  the  complex,  organized  game  before  the  chil- 
dren are  ready  for  it.  The  simple  plays,  without  many  rules, 
quickly  played  and  easily  changed,  must  come  first.  Per- 
haps the  greatest  danger  of  all  hf  supervised  play  is  that  the 
initiative  will  come  from  the  adult  instead  of  from  the  child. 
When  this  is  true,  even  though  children  seek  the  direction 
and  guidance,  one  of  the  greatest  values  of  play  is  gone.  ^  The 
initiative,  the  motive  force  must  come  from  the  children  if 
their  play  is  to  them  really  natural.  When  there  is  too  much 
direction  the  essential  character  of  the  activity  may  be 
changed  for  the  children,  and  what  in  form  is  play  may  be 
work ;  when  this  happens,  the  value  of  both  play  and  work  is 
diminished.  The  very  fact  that  the  supervisor  or  teacher  is 
an  adult,  and  that  the  players  are  children,  makes  educative 
supervision  very  difficult.  Adults  must  efface  themselves 
more,  they  must  play  the  role  of  observers  more  effectively, 


222  Psychology  of  Childhood 

the  doctrine  of  "  hands  off  "  must  be  applied  more  often  in 
dealing  with  children  both  in  their  work  and  in  their  play  if 
they  are  to  reap  the  full  benefit  of  their  activity. 


Exercises 


I 


1.  Make  out  a  list  of  fifty  or  sixty  games  and  plays  you  enjoyed 
from  as  far  back  as  you  can  remember.     Classify  them  according  to 

{a)  the  age  at  which  you  played  them, 

{h)  whether  it  was  mostly  a  game  or  play, 

{c)  whether  there  was  rhythm, 

id)  whether  there  was  repetition, 

(e)   whether  there  was  competition, 

(/)  whether  there  was  imagination, 

{g)  whether  there  was  much  language,  or  intellectual  feature 
involved, 

Qi)  the  type  of  organization,  was  it  individual  play,  in  an  un- 
defined group,  a  double  group,  a  pair  or  double  pair,  or  an  organized 
group. 

Arrange  your  classifications  in  tabular  form  on  one  sheet.  How 
does  your  introspection  corroborate  facts  brought  out  in  this 
chapter  ? 

2.  Observe  the  neighborhood  closely  for  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  square  in  a  city,  more  in  the  suburbs  or  country.  Enumerate 
the  facilities  and  conditions  fdi*  play  such  as,  {a)  space ;  {h)  topog- 
raphy, including  slopes,  gutters,  vacant  lots,  sand,  clay  or  rock, 
trees  and  grass,  steps,  area  railings,  low  walls,  etc. ;  (c)  physical 
safety,  such  as  conditions  after  dark,  amount  of  traffic,  street 
railways;  {d)  moral  suggestions,  such  as  number  of  saloons, 
churches,  libraries,  moving-picture  theaters,  overcrowded  living 
conditions ;  (e)  points  of  interest  to  children,  such  as  toy  and  candy 
stores,  fire  engine  house,  garages,  fire  hydrants,  building  going  on, 
exposed  fruit  stalls,  etc. 

Make  a  map,  if  time  allows,  and  enter  these  features. 

3.  In  the  neighborhood  you  surveyed,  spend  from  three  to  six 
hours  observing  the  children  at  play  at  different  times  of  day. 
Note  {a)  the  name  of  the  activity,  {h)  approximate  age,  (c)  size 
and  sex  of  group,  also  the  points  as  given  from  (6)  to  {h)  inclusive 


Play  223 

1  exercise  i  above.    Tabulate  as  before.    How  do  the  results 
ompare  with  your  answer  to  i  ? 

4.  Visit  a  large  toy-store  during  its  pre-Christmas  display, 
iist  such  articles  as  you  would  advise  parents  to  get  for  children 
nder  three,  under  seven,  seven  to  ten,  ten  to  thirteen,  in  the  early 
eens. 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  What  does  a  teacher  mean  by  saying  "Stop  playing  now, 
,nd  get  to  work,"  or  "You  haven't  worked  at  this,  you've  only 
)layed"? 

2.  Is  following  a  hobby  play  or  work?    Why? 

3.  Describe  and  illustrate  the  attention  characterizing  play, 
Irudgery. 

4.  How  would  you  bring  the  play  spirit  into  a  task  children 
ire  likely  to  consider  drudgery? 

5.  Is  work,  in  and  of  itself,  developmental? 

6.  In  what  respects  does  the  play  of  Japanese,  Dutch,  Hindu, 
md  American  children  differ  ? 

7.  What  should  a  teacher  gain  from  careful  observation  of  the 
msupervised  play  of  her  particular  group  of  children  ? 

8.  Did  you,  as  a  child,  prefer  the  perfected  mechanical  toy  or 
he  "  do  with  "  variety  ?    Why  ? 

9.  Illustrate  the  facts  that  tradition,  the  season,  and  sex  make  a 
difference  in  the  kinds  of  play  engaged  in. 

References  for  Reading 

Lee,  Play  in  Education. 

G.  W.  Johnson,  Education  by  Plays  and  Games. 
J.  Addams,  The  Spirit  of  Youth  and  the  City  Streets, 
G.  Stanley  Hall,  Youth,  ch.  6. 


I 


CHAPTER  XIII 

SEQUENT  TENDENCIES.    MORAL  AND   RELIGIOUS 
DEVELOPMENT 

DEFINITION  OF  MORAL  TENDENCY.  —  Of  the  many 

^,  current  definitions  of  morality  perhaps  one  of  the 

the  essen-      most  significant  is  that  which  calls  it  the  intelligent 

mora/itu?      ^^^^^^  ^J  ^^^  individual  of  habits  of  action  for  the 

good  of  the  group. 

Intelligence  a  factor.  —  It  should  be  noticed  that  at  least 
five  things  are  involved  in  this  conception.  Intelligence 
implies  that  an  individual,  to  be  moral,  must  know  the 
"accepted  standards  of  right  and  wrong.  On  this  account 
the  very  young  child  or  a  feeble-minded  person  is  obviously 
not  moral.  The  first  needs  instruction,  the  second  may  not 
be  able  to  profit  by  it.  So,  too,  from  the  stranger  in  a  com- 
munity, be  he  newly  arrived  immigrant,  freshman  at  college, 
pupil  in  a  new  school,  or  rural  visitor  in  a  city  home,  breaches 
of  social  customs  are  tacitly  ignored  while  the  newcomer  is 
allowed  a  period  in  which  to  shed  his  greenness.  No  plea  of 
ignorance  of  the  law  is  sufficient,  however,  to  enable  the  adult 
citizen  to  escape  the  penalties  of  breaking  it.  Training  in 
morality  will  include  then  (i)  instruction  in  desired  standards, 
(2)  the  formation  of  ideas  of  right  and  wrong  by  empirical 
means. 

Personal  choice.  —  A  second  constituent  of  morahty  is 
personal  choice.  This  involves  a  motive  and  a  decision  rather 
than  a  blind  keeping  of  the  law.  A  hypnotized  subject  or  a 
sick  patient  are  extreme  cases  of  people  whose  actions  may  be 

224 


I 


■Sequent  Tendencies.     Moral,  Religious  Development     225 

onformable  to  law  but  who  entirely  lack  individual  motiva-  ^ 
ion   and  impulse.     Their  outward   conformity  is   therefore 
lot  moral.     In  this  matter  we  should  not  make  the  mistake 
f  supposing  that  a  routine  compliance  with  orders  on  the  part 
f  any  one,  together  with  an  absence  of  thoughtful  decision  or 
)urposeful  control  of  emotions,  is  moral.     Our  complaisant 
dult  conduct  is,  however,  largely  of  this  type.     Most  of  us 
lave  not  chosen  to  refrain  from  murder,  theft,  arson,  and  the     / 
ike ;  we  have  simply  not  had  the  occasion  for  such  conduct  ^ 
irise  opportunely.     In  fact,  were  such  occasion  now  to  present 
tself ,  especially  without  a  strong  emotional  setting  or  appeal 
o  an  instinct,  we  should  probably  refrain,  not  from  any  moral 
:hoice,  but  from  sheer  inertia  with  regard  to  a  non-habitual «/ 
ine  of  action.     Our  law-abidingness,  then,  has  never  risen  to 
the  moral  level  with  respect  to  these  and  many  similar  things ; 
it  is  merely  non-moral.     Not  that  this  neutral,  non-moral 
::onduct  is  valueless  :  quite  the  contrary,  it  has  its  main  social 
utility  in  that  it  constitutes  a  stabilizing  force  helping  to  con- 
serve standards,  restrain  or  support  the  weaker  ones  among  us, 
and  provide  the  stepping  stone  to  higher  levels.     As  individual 
preparation  for  dealing  with  new  situations,  however,  espe- 
cially in  moments  of  strong  emotional  urge,  it  is  dangerous 
in  its  narrowness.     Training,  then,  must  provide  opportuni- 
ties to  reason  and  to  choose  in  matters  of  right  and  wrong  con- 
duct, or  else  children  cannot  learn  independence  of  will  nor 
acquire  clear  vision  of  ethical  values. 

Individual  responsibility.  —  The  third  requisite  in  morality 
is  to  have  responsibility  thrown  upon  the  individual.  Each 
must  stand  accountable  for  his  own  deeds,  learn  his  standards, 
do  his  own  choosing.  In  this  matter  no  moral  person  may 
shelter  behind  the  community  as  a  whole,  nor  behind  any 
other  person  in  the  guise  of  counselor  or  friend,  nor  behind 
any  institution.  Each,  as  he  comes  to  years  of  discretion  and 
elects  to  whatsoever  small  unit  of  society  such  as  club,  politi- 
cal party,  church,  profession  he  will  give  his  adherence,  by 

Q 


226  Psychology  of  Childhood 

thus  pledging  his  loyalty,  takes  a  definitely  moral  stand,  and 
shares  the  responsibility  for  the  good  of  that  unit  and  for  its 
value  to  the  larger  social  group  of  which  it  is  a  part.  Should 
his  greater  inteUigence  show  him  ways  in  which  his  unit  is- 
running  counter  to  the  general  social  good  or  is  failing  to 
further  it,  it  devolves  upon  him  to  point  out  that  fact  and  to 
help  make  such  changes  in  policy  and  function  as  will  carry 
his  vision  into  reality.  Should  a  person  have  charge  of  others, 
the  morals  of  leadership  imply  that  he  look  out  for  the  well- 
being  and  the  well-doing  of  his  followers ;  in  that  case  he  must 
expect  blame  or  praise  for  others'  acts  as  well  as  for  his  own. 
Moral-education  will  have  to  include  (i)  the  refraining,  on  the 
part  of  adults,  from  giving  directions  or  advice  too  freely, 
(2)  the  intrusting  of  special  commissions  to  children,  (3)  posi- 
tions of  command  and  care  of  others. 

Habituated  action.  —  The  fourth  fundamental  in  morality 
is  action.  In  fact  morality  is  in  its  very  essence,  action, 
and,  moreover,  habits  of  action  rather  than  isolated  acts.  Too 
often  a  person  prides  himself,  not  only  on  the  things  he  doesn't 
do,  but  on  the  beautiful  sentiments  or  the  fine  ideas  he  has 
either  in  the  abstract  or  those  which  criticize  other  people's 
conduct.  But  ideas  and  sentiments  without  expression  other 
than  in  words  whether  oral  or  in  print  do  not  begin  to  give  us 
morality  any  more  than  steam  from  the  spout  of  the  kettle  will 
accomplish  anything ;  both  have  to  be  directed,  transformed 
into  working  power.  A  quite  limited  intelHgence  backed  by 
earnest  effort  may  produce  a  constructively  moral  character 
provided  the  individual  lives  out  the  best  that  he  knows. 
But  to  have  the  knowledge,  the  vision,  and  to  fail  in  living 
up  to  it  —  to  have  the  power  and  the  insight  and  to  neglect 
to  use  them  for  the  social  good,  is  more  than  the  negative  act 
of  a  shirker.  It  is  as  positively  immoral  deliberately  to  re- 
frain from  a  recognized  good  as  it  is  to  go  and  poison  one's 
neighbor,  a  truth  we  have  frequently  heard  proclaimed  and 
at  last  are  beginning  to  realize. 


'equent  Tendencies.    Moral,  Religious  Development     227 

Further,  an  occasional  moral  act  does  not  make  a  man  moral  y 
;r  the  reverse.  Character  is  composed  of  fixed  tendencies 
Jr  habits  rather  than  of  spasmodic  deeds.  A  woman  who 
'ias  once  refrained  from  slandering  her  neighbor  is  not  thereby 
idrtuous  any  more  than  the  youth  who  has  taken  one  drink 
j)f  whisky  is  an  alcohoUc.  Perhaps  our  thinking  is  not  yet 
J  ufficiently  clear  on  this  point,  for  we  unfortunately  are  apt 
>i0  condemn  a  girl  permanently  for  one  lapse  from  chastity, 
md  to  condone  all  a  wastrel's  offenses  for  one  act  of  bravery. 
^Particularly  should  we  be  cautious  in  passing  judgment  as 
inal  on  characters  still  in  the  making,  of  penalizing  an  ado- 
escent  for  a  few  misdeeds,  or  of  affixing  derogatory  adjectives 
IS  labels  on  to  the  persons  of  immature  human  beings  in  con- 
sequence of  single  immoral  acts.  Likewise,  we  should  not 
rest  content  with  instilling  moral  precepts,  nor  with  hearing 
Drofessions  of  idealism,  nor  with  supervising  a  few  perform- 
nces  of  moral  acts.  We  must  enhst  the  children's  coopera-  y 
ion  in  the  long  process  of  habit-forming  with  all  that  thati  y 

cans  in  the  way  of  perseverance,  provision  of  extra  chances 
to  practice  the  virtue,  and  eternal  vigilance  against  exceptions. 

Social  relationship.  —  The  fifth  constituent  of  morahty, 
already  touched  on,  is  that  action  shall  be  for  the  social  good. 
Not  all  conduct,  then,  has  a  moral  bearing ;  but  no  conduct 
which  has  a  social  effect  either  immediately  or  more  remotely 
can  escape  being  either  moral  or  immoral.  To  overeat,  to 
sit  up  constantly  till  i  a.m.,  to  invite  injury  through  negli- 
gence while  engaging  in  sports  may  be,  at  first  blush,  a  purely 
individual  matter  and  non-moral ;  but  in  so  far  as  they  impair 
the  efficiency  of  one's  services  to  society  such  acts  are  immoral. 
Clearly  too,  habitual  indulgence  in  actions  having  a  deleterious 
effect  upon  one's  work  is  more  immoral  than  is  any  single  act ; 
likewise  a  deliberate  repetition  of  conduct  realized  as  having 
a  harmful  consequence  is  worse  than  a  chance  repetition. 
Training  in  morahty  will  include  observation  of  the  effect 
of  others'  actions  on  one's  self,  so  that  by  application  of  the 


228  Psychology  of  Childhood 

Golden  Rule  only  such  actions  will  be  chosen  as  have  a  de- 
sirable effect  on  others. 

Historic  changes. — The  term  *' social  good"  must  be  taken- 
in  a  relative  sense,  however.  Standards  of  good  differ  first 
of  all  with  the  age  in  which  one  lives  and  the  degree  of  civili- 
zation reached.  To  eat  one's  enemy,  to  kill  one's  aged  grand- 
parent, to  burn  a  heretic  alive  are  no  longer  considered  moral 
acts  though  they  all  were  permissible  at  one  time  or  another. 
At  present  we  are  convinced  that  dueHng  and  slave-holding 
are  not  for  the  social  good,  and  are  in  the  early  stages  of  realiz- 
ing that  sweat-shop  conditions,  the  holding  of  food  monopolies, 
and  the  advertising  of  quack  medicines  are  likewise  immoral. 
To-day  we  feel  that  actions  reaching  the  mental  or  spiritual 
life  are  more  influential  morally  than  those  touching  merely 
the  physical.  Thus,  treachery  is  less  easily  forgiven  than  is 
a  murder  committed  in  a  lust  of  rage.  Suggestively  vicious 
moving  pictures  are  worse  for  the  adolescents  of  a  community 
than  is  negligence  resulting  in  a  typhoid  epidemic.    • 

Racial  differences.  —  Rjacial  and  national  differences  in 
moral  standards  also  exist.  Hatred  of  lying,  ideas  of  honor, 
reverence  for  the  old  or  weak,  for  instance,  are  not  the  same 
among  Chinese,  Scotch,  and  Italians;  marriage  and  divorce 
laws  are  different  in  England,  Turkey,  Japan,  and  various 
parts  of  America. 

Size  of  group.  —  The  relativity  of  moral  standards  depends 
not  only  on  the  age  and  nation  in  which  one  lives  but  upon  the 
size  of  the  community  one  considers.  An  act  non-moral  for 
an  individual  in  a  small  family  becomes  immoral  for  any  one 
living  with  two  hundred  others  in  an  institution.  A  single 
family  living  isolated  on  a  mountain  may  dispose  of  its  gar- 
bage, sewage,  and  waste  in  any  way  it  chooses ;  not  so  the 
family  living  in  a  small  town.  The  town  may  use  a  near-by 
stream  for  sewage  disposal,  but  not  the  city  situated  upstream 
from  another  city.  Only  recently,  however,  have  we  begun 
to  suspect  that  if  it  is  immoral  for  an  individual  to  lie,  steal. 


Sequent  Tendencies.    Moral,  Religious  Development     229 

and  murder,  it  is  also  immoral  for  a  corporation,  a  society,  a 
nation,  to  do  these  things.  Our  social  horizons  and  our  esti- 
mates of  what  is  moral  widenrand~sTretcir  together.  Moral 
training  will  necessitate,  therefore,  introducing  children  into 
wider  and  wider  social  environments,  as  well  as  instructing 
them,  presenting  opportunities  for  choice,  throwing  increas- 
ing responsibiUty  on  them,  and  insisting  on  actions  being  co- 
ordinated into  habits. 

Distinction  from  immorality.  —  If  moraHty  consists  in  these 
things,  then  to  be  an  ignorant  follower,  or  to  live  in  isolation 
may  leave  one  non-moral ;   but  to  know  right  and  what  is  im- 
wrong  and  choose  the  wrong,  or  to  choose  in  thought  morality  ? 
merely  and  refrain  from  doing  the  right,  to  habituate  conduct 
by  a  narrow  gauge  only  makes  one  immoral.     What  can  be 
said  of  those  who  can  think,  but  carelessly  don't  consider  the 
maximum  social  good  ?     Or  who  think  but  stop  short  of  de- 
cision?    Or  who  have  ability  but  shirk  responsibility?     In 
these  matters  perhaps  most  of  us  have  not  '*  done  growing." 
Dependence  on  instinct.  —  To^  the  question  whether  there 
is  a  single  instinct  that  could  be  called  /T^e  moral  instinct  the 
answer  surely  is  that  there  is  not.     Morality  is  js  morality 
certainly  acquired.     Many  instincts  contribute  to  '""«'^** 
its  growth;   innate  tendencies  that  are  primarily  social  soon 

"become  modified  by  contact  with  other  human  beings,  emo- 
tions are  gradually  controlled  and  utilized  in  one  way  or  an- 
other, but  all  this  is  a  process  of  learning.  Little  children 
find  that  certain  impulses  that  tend  to  further  individual 
satisfaction  come  into  conflict  with  other  impulses  which  tend 
to  further  the  good  of  the  group,  —  the  family,  the  playmates, 

"  the  working  unit ;  thus  occasions  are  provided  for  choice  and 
inhibition  of  one  set  of  impulses  rather  than  the  other. 
Whether  children  become  moral  or  immoral  depends  upon  the 

^v?a3rTn  which  their  original  tendencies  are  modified.  Their 
"  conscience  "  is  the  outcome  of  education  in  a  community 
and  will,  of  necessity,  reflect  its  standards ;  but  the  concepts 


230 


Psychology  of  Childhood 


and  ideals  are  only  gradually  formed  as  their  knowledge  and 
experience  is  extended. 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  What  moral  responsibility  is  involved  after  you  have  realized 
such  things  as  the  following:  (a)  that  a  large  class  passes  more 
easily  from  a  room  if  the  movable  seats  and  book-rests  are  turned 
back  and  the  doors  opened  wide?  (b)  that  to  spit  is  unsanitary? 
(c)  that  a  station  platform  is  dangerously  narrow  for  the  crowds 
that  use  it?  (d)  that  obscene  picture  postals  are  being  sold  near 
your  school  ?  (c)  that  you  are  over- working  ? 

2.  Under  what  circumstances  is  it  non-moral  or  immoral  to 
(a)  drop  candy- wrappings,  fruit  skins,  nut-shells,  etc.,  wherever 
one  is  eating?  (b)  to  conceal  the  fact  that  one  has  tuberculosis? 
(c)  to  delay  decision  in  a  plan  of  action?  {d)  to  read  novels  or  do 
nothing  every  afternoon  for  a  month  ? 

3.  Are  these  things  moral  or  otherwise?  (a)  total  abstinence 
from  alcoholic  drinks,  (b)  loyalty  in  a  partisan  way  to  such  things 
as  "the  gang,"  a  secret  society  in  high  school,  (c)  ignorance  of  the 
civic  health  regulations. 

4.  What  do  your  answers  to  the  preceding  three  questions  sug- 
gest as  to  requisites  in  the  moral  training  of  children? 

5.  In  what  way  is  a  child  brought  up  alone  likely  to  be  deficient 
morally  ?    Why  ? 

6.  In  what  ways  is  "self-government"  among  a  class  of  fifth 
grade  children  of  approximately  the  same  age  unnatural  ? 

RELIGIOUS  TENDENCY.  —  Meaning  of  the  term  religion. 
Religion  is  harder  to  define  than  is  morahty.  Menzies  calls 
What  is  im-  ^^  "  ^^  worship  of  unseen  powers  from  a  sense  of 
piiedinthe    need."    Stratton  says  "  one  might  say  that  religion 

term"  rt'       •  ...  o  j  o 


Jf'     is  an  appreciation  of  an  unseen  world,  usually  an 
unseen  company."    James  puts  it,  ''  We  and  God 
^ve  business  with  each  other,  and  in  opening  ourselves  to 

His  influence  our  deepest  destiny  is  fulfilled In  the  sober 

moments  of  Hfe  every  man  instinctively  appeals  to  or  leans 
upon  the  larger  and  stronger  spirit  whom  he,  perhaps  vaguely, 


Sequent  Tendencies.     Moral,  Religious  Development     231 

regards  as  the  original  and  final  authority  over  the  affairs  of 
men."  ^  Religion  is  not  to  be  identified  with  the  performance 
of  many  acts  of  public  and  private  worship,  nor  with  the  pos- 
session of  information  about  religious  literature,  history,  and 
theology,  nor  with  susceptibility  to  emotional  transports, 
though  in  the  popular  mind  the  term  ''  a  reHgious  person  " 
may  easily  call  up  a  mental  image  of  an  adept  in  any  one  of 
these  three  fines.  It  is  true  that  religion  does  involve  acts, 
knowledge,  and  feelings,  since  religion  is  a  way  of  living.  Its 
peculiarity  as  a  way  of  living  is  in  its  point  of  reference  to  some 
power  or  powers  other  than  human  with  which  man  has  some 
kind  of  relationship.  It  will  be  seen  that  roughly  this  descrip- 
tion fits  the  Moslem,  the  witch  doctor,  the  Parsee,  the  Pres- 
byterian, the  modern  Japanese,  the  Jew,  the  Hindu,  the 
Quaker,  the  Cathofic,  and  many  other  types  equally  well. 
Coe  says,  "  Religion  exists  at  all  because  men  find  themselves 
and  their  world  standing  over  against  each  other  in  an  antith- 
esis, even  opposition,  that  needs  to  be  resolved.  .  .  .  The  re- 
ligious impulse  is  thus  toward  the  progressive  unification  of 
the  man  with  himself,  his  fellows,  nature  and  all  that  is.  It 
is  man's  effort  to  be  at  home  in  his  world  and  with  himself."  ^ 
Religion,  then,  is  the  unification  of  life  in  terms  of  principles 
which  prove  themselves  true.  ,  It  is  the  regulation  of  life  by 
ideals  of  universal  and  everlasting  truth.  It  is  the  attempt  of 
the  human  being  to  live  the  best  that  is  in  him,  to  be  the  best 
that  he  can ;  and  that  attempt  comes  only  through  communion 
with  the  Infinite.  To  live  as  children  of  God  is  man's  highest 
realization  of  self,  and  it  is  the  essence  of  rehgion. 

The  expressive  formal  acts  universally  recognized  as  reli- 
gious include  seclusion  for  purposes  of  meditation  and  intro- 
spection, fasting,  the  need  of  objective  symbolic  objects,  self-, 
torture,  burial  customs,  collecting  of  sacred  literature,  pubic 
initiations,  pilgrimage,  prayer  of  all  types  from  mere  incanta- 

^  Varieties  of  Religious  Experience. 

2  Coe,  Education  in  Religion  and  Morals,  pp.  200-201. 


2^2  Psychology  of  Childhood 

tions  up  to  friendly  communion,  sacrifice,  concerted  worship, 
including  the  use  of  music,  fasting,  dancing,  various  rites  and 
ceremonies. 

On  the  emotional  side  we  have  the  feelings  of  fear,  wonder, 
awe,  reverence,  sense  of  mystery,  filial  relationship,  gratitude, 
fellowship,  assurance  of  safety,  peace  and  love,  sympathy  for 
suffering,  enthusiasm  for  living  for  a  cause. 

On  the  intellectual  side  the  instinct  shows  itseK  in  a  con- 
sciousness of  increasing  uneasiness,  a  realization  of  a  gap  be- 
tween what  is  and  the  ideal.  This  duality,  disturbance,  op- 
position, is  resolved  as  salvation  from  wrong  by  the  deliberate 
connection  with  the  higher :  the  Ideal  beyond  limitations  is 
postulated  as  the  only  Real.  The  self  is  identified  with  this 
higher  Ideal,  which  in  turn  is  probably  identified  with  the 
force  operating  in  the  universe  at  large.  All  feel  that  this 
force  exists  and  functions,  though  the  various  religions  and 
theologies  may  differ  in  their  behef  of  the  nature  of  this  force 
and  the  way  in  which  it  acts.  The  first  idea  of  God  may  arise 
from  observation  of  the  forces  of  nature,  in  other  words  ani- 
mism. Belief  in  the  immortaHty  of  spirits  is  the  next  stage, 
with  its  accompaniments  of  ancestor  worship,  superstitions, 
fetichism,  incantations,  and  magic.  Local  and  tribal  deities 
are  adopted,  then  national  deities  with  assigned  seasons  and 
places  of  worship.  As  the  tribal  god  inspires  to  loyalty,  so 
the  national  god  inspires  to  righteousness.  From  a  zoomor- 
phic  conception  man  passes  through  polytheism,  an  anthro- 
pomorphic conception,  symboHc  presentation  to  a  philosophic 
concept  as  Final  Cause  or  as  Power  making  for  righteousness. 
This  brief  survey  of  religious  tendencies  gives  some  indica- 
tion of  how  we  might  expect  children  to  develop  if  left 
unguided. 

^  Essentials.  —  i.  To  be  rehgious  requires,  first,  that  the  indi- 
vidual through  experience,  realize  the  inadequacy  of  various 
endeavors;  the  lack  of  adjustment  between  man  and  man; 
the  warfare  within  himself  between  a  better  and  a  worse 


Sequent  Tendencies.     Moral,  Religious  Development     233 

self ;  the  need  to  explain  and  account  for  nature.     Religious 
instruction,  which  is  mere  telling,  giving  information,  will 
not  meet  this  need.     Religion,  the  progressive  and  ^^^^^^^^ 
the  final  adjustment,  is  Life,  and  Life  means  action,  theessen- 

''  The  feeling  of  maladjustment  must  arise  from  ac-  J'jJ^^^^^ 
tual  living,  not  from  mere  head-knowledge,  other- 
wise the  individual  may  be  non-religious  but  he  could  never 
be  truly  religious.     The  value  of  law,  the  need  of  human  sym- 
pathy, the  meaning  of  divine  love,  the  function  of  punishment, 

•ihe  dependence  of  tjie  individual  upon  others  and  upon  un- 
seen, often  unknown,  forces, — ^all  these  facts  and  many  others 
must  come  to  the  child  growing  up  in  human  communities. 
Too  much  protection  and  care  often  prevents  wholesome 
experience.  Dogma  and  creeds  are  accepted  when  not  under- 
stood, and  the  normal  questioning  and  investigation  that 
would  have  led  to  a  true  realization  of  some  of  Ufe's  problems, 

'"are  snuffed  out. 

Realization  of  opposing  forces.  —  2.  With  the  realization 
of  the  inadequacy  of  responses  along  the  lines  indicated,  there 
must  be  present  a  desire  to  make  things  "  better,"  to  have 
things  what  they  are  not.  In  other  words,  there  must  be 
ideals  —  ideals  real,  vital,  ideals  that  can  influence  conduct. 
Of  course  they  will  vary  with  the  maturity  and  surroundings 
of  the  individual.  From  childish  ideals  and  principles  such 
as  of  being  "Papa's  brave  boy,"  and  of  " God  who  is  just  like 
a  big  Santa  Claus  who  wants  me  to  be  good  " ;  or  of  explain- 
ing thunder  storms  by  saying  ''  God  is  rolling  barrels  " ;  or 
of  sharing  with  sister  because  she  shared  with  me  yesterday, 
we  progress  to  these  ideals  of  living  as  taught  and  lived  by 
Christ,  and  to  the  laws  of  nature  and  society  as  evolved  by 
science. 

Habits,  knowledge,  and  thinking. — 3.  As  in  morality,  knowl- 

.  edge,  thinking,,  and  habits  are  all  necessary  and  for  the  same 
reasons  as  there  discusseH.  Since  reHgion  is  a  matter  of  con- 
stant, steady  Hving  towards  an  end,  habit  must  control.   Real 


2^4  Psychology  of  Childhood 


control  involves  thinking,  and  without  knowledge  thinking 
goes  astray  and  some  habits  cannot  be  formed.  Further, 
unless  religion  is  the  outgrowth  of  judgment,  of  choice,  it  is 
blind,  —  not  rational,  —  it  does  not  take  in  the  whole  man, 
and  therefore  is  not  true  reUgion. 

Religion  includes  morality.  —  Hrom  this  it  will  be  seen 
that  religion,  in  its  true  and  biggest  sense,  includes  morals. 
A-Jnan  cannot  seek  to  unify  Hfe  in  accord  with  ideal  ends 
without  working  with  that  phase  of  it  which  requires  the  ad- 
justment of  man  to  man,  which  we  mean  by  the  term  *'  moral- 
ity." It  is  hard  to  see  how  a  man  could  be  really  religious,  and 
yet  be  immoral.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  possible  for  a  man 
to  be  truly  moral  without  being  fully  reHgious.  He  may  unify 
his  experiences  in  regard  to  his  fellow  creatures  under  moral 
laws ;  but  he  has  taken  into  consideration  only  one  phase  of 
life,  he  has  not  reconciled  the  opposing  forces  along  other 
lines,  and  therefore  is  not  reHgious.  Morality,  included  in 
religion,  is  a  stepping  stone  to  it,  but  morality  is  not  religion. 
Religion  is  Life  at  its  broadest  and  best.  It  is  man  finding 
himself  in  God.  This  ideal  requires  every  power  of  the  human 
being  to  think,  to  feel,  and  to  do;  all  are  required  in  this 
greatest  problem  of  the  human  race. 

Connection  with  instincts.  —  As  in  the  case  with  morals, 
the  question  as  to  whether  or  not  man  is  naturally  religious 
h  there  an  has  been  hotly  debated ;  it  is  far  from  settled  yet, 
original  root  perhaps  less  settled  even  than  the  other  question. 
of  religion?    ^j^^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^^  instincts  Contribute  to  the 

development  of  religion  cannot  be  doubted.     Some  of  the 
most  important  are  curiosity,  the  sex  instinct,  the  aesthetic 
instinct  and  fear;    kindliness,  gregariousness,  satisfiers  and 
annoyers,  love  of  being  a  cause;  all  helpfin  fact,  the  last  named  ^ 
tendency  in  its  subtle  responses  in  the  secondary  connections* 
is  a  large  factor.    It  is  probably  responsible  for  the  power  to  > 
idealize,  and  therefore  for  the  power  to  think  of  a  God.     The 
fact  that  such  activity  in  these  secondary  connections  is  satis- 


Sequent  Tendencies.     Moral,  Religious  Development     235 

fying  makes  man  want  to  improve  his  conduct,  make  it 
measure  up;  for  that  element  is  an  intrinsic  part  of  every 
ideal.  The  working  together  of  our  experiences,  and  the 
instinctive  responses  from  which  in  time  evolves  the  conscious- 
ness of  a  separate  and  distinct  personality  are  also  large  factors 
in  developing  religion.  Without  an  independent  personality 
there  could  be  no  religion.  This  much  practically  all  students 
of  child  psychology  would  grant.  However,  some  of  our 
scholars  will  go  further.  Coe  says,^  "  Man  has  a  rehgious 
nature.  The  definite  establishment  of  this  proposition  is 
perhaps  the  greatest  service  that  the  history  and  psychology 
of  religion  have  performed."  "  To  speak  positively,  the  pos- 
session of  a  positive  rehgious  nature  impHes  three  things: 
(a)  that  a  child  has  more  than  a  passive  capacity  for  spiritual 
things.  ...  A  positive  spiritual  nature  goes  forth  sponta- 
neously in  search  of  God.  {h)  That  nothing  short  of  union 
with  God  can  really  bring  a  human  being  to  himself.  .  .  . 
Failing  to  find  Him  we  lose  even  our  self,  {c)  That  the  suc- 
cessive phases  in  the  growth  of  the  child  personahty  may  be., 
and  normally  are,  so  many  phases  of  the  growing  consciousness 
of  the  divine  meaning  of  fife." 

Need  of  training. — Whether  we  agree  with  the  foregoing 
statement  or  not  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  original  nature 
somehow  or  other  are  formed  the  roots  from  which  is  there  any 
religion  develops.  It  may  be  that  religion  is  the  re-  ^^^fj°  '^°'" 
suit  of  the  working  together  of  various  subtle  tend-  the  religious 
encies  in  the  secondary  connections,  such  as  Dr.  ^"^P^^se? 
Coe's  explanation  suggests;  or  it  may  be  that  as  the  main 
taproot  of  morality  is  formed  in  the  instincts  of  kindliness 
and  self-gratification,  so  the  taproots  of  religious  nature  will 
be  found  to  be  goodliness  and  self-gratification.  The  main 
thing  for  us  as  students  of  child  psychology  to  bear  in  mind  is 
that  children  have  a  religious  nature.  To  ignore  it  is  to  de- 
prive them  of  some  of  their  inheritance,  —  after  all,  the  most 
1  Coe,  op.  cit.,  pp.  37,  62. 


236  Psychology  of  Childhood 

important  part.  But  the  fact  that  children  have  by  original 
nature  a  religious  impulse,  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  they 
will  grow  up  religious,  or  that  they  will  necessarily  have  any 
conscious  religious  experience  or  realization  of  God.^  This 
tendency  needs  developing,  pruning,  directing,  feeding,  just  as 
any  other  does.  All  children  have  the  kindly  instinct,  yet  how 
many  brutes  there  are,  and  how  many  more  who  are  never 
rationally  moral.  We  all  have  the  mstinct  of  curiosity,  yet 
how  few  of  us  become  scientists.  Much  and  careful  training 
is  necessary  before  a  child  grows  up  into  a  truly  religious  adult. 

Questions  for  Thought  and  Discussion 

1.  What  evidence  can  you  get,  by  introspective  recall  or  by 
observation  concerning  children's  ideas  of  God,  which  might  sup- 
port the  culture  epoch  theory? 

2.  Did  you  ever  invent  a  god,  an  idol,  or  a  ritual  of  yoUr  own? 
If  so,  at  what  age?    Have  you  known  of  this  in  other  children? 

3.  Comparing  several  religions,  what  instances  can  you  give  of 
the  sex  instinct  being  controlled  or  sublimated  by  religious  emo- 
tion, or  of  religious  rites  and  practices  degenerating  into  sexual 
orgies?  What  possibilities  does  this  suggest  for  the  training  of 
adolescents? 

4.  At  what  ages,  if  any,  have  you  felt  in  yourself  or  seen  in 
others  impulses  to  improvise  sacrifices,  to  institute  some  form  of 
blood  covenant,  to  use  self-torture,  to  indulge  in  a  dreamy  mys- 
ticism, to  start  out  to  reform  the  world,  to  overestimate  the  use 
of  symbols,  to  organize  a  philanthropic  cult  or  society  ? 

TRAINING  IN  MORALS  AND  RELIGION.  Principles 
concerned.  —  As  has  been  shown,  there  are  various  essentials 
Whatpsu'  "evolved  in  reUgion  and  morals.  A  way  of  living 
^iwt^T  ^^  include  relationships  with  a  higher  being  and 
involved  with  one's  fellows  imphes  the  development  of  the 
•rf^h^n?  i^^^^^^ctual,  voUtional,  and  emotional  aspects  of 
children's  natures.  They  must  be  informed,  they 
must  think,  they  must  choose,  they  must  gain  independence 


Sequent  Tendencies.     Moral,  Religious  Development     237 

of  thought  and  choice,  they  must  be  inspired  and  motivated,  - 
they  must  act,  and  act  consistently.    The  self  must  be  ori- 
ented with  regard  to  other  human  beings  and  the  higher  ■ 
powers.     Since  there  is  no  one  thing  recognizable  as  the  moral  I 
or  the  rehgious  instinct,  but  simply  the  whole  self  employed  \ 
about  moral  and  spiritual  matters,  and  as  education  is  a  uni-  \ 
tary  and  continuous  process,  it  follows  that  there  is  no  special 
education  to  be  termed  moral  or  rehgious ;   it  is  merely  one 
aspect  of  the  whole.     Its  material  may  vary  sUghtly  but 
scarcely  its  methods,  since  it  deals  with  the  same  highly  com- 
plex organism  of  feelings,   affection,   impulses,   aspirations, 
habits,  and  intellectual  capacities  as  do  other  aspects  of  edu- 
cation.    No  new  psychological  laws  are  needed,  therefore. 
However,  since  we  are  conscious  that  many  adults  remain  on 
low  moral  levels  in  all  sorts  of  ways  due  to  defective  training 
or  inadequate  environment,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  emphasize 
a  few  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the  development  of 
children  during  the  non-moral  and  transition  periods. 

Laivs  involved  are  not  new.  —  First.  XL^l-Ust  be  continually 
and  forcibly  emphasized  that  the  same  laws  do  apply  in  the 
development  of  moral  and  rehgious  responses  that  apply  in 
the  development  of  any  other  type.  Most  people  even  to-day, 
if  one  can  judge  from  observing  the  training  of  children  in 
these  fields,  beheve  that  some  mysterious  force  reigns  here, 
and  that  although  every  law  of  child  psychology  and  every 
law  of  teaching  be  broken,  yet  faith  and  prayer  will  make 
children  both  moral  and  religious.  Witness  the  subject 
matter,  the  methods,  the  material  used  in  the  majority  of  our 
religious  schools,  Jewish,  CathoHc,  and  Protestant,  save  the 
few  progressive  ones.  Where  is  the  motivation,  the  interest, 
the  provision  for  initiative  and  motor  expression  which  are 
considered  so  important  in  the  secular  schools?  How  many 
of  the  teachers  who  serve  Sunday  after  Sunday  would  be 
tolerated  in  a  day  school?  How  many  parents  who  declare 
their  inabihty  to  teach  their  children  arithmetic  or  history 


238  Psychology  of  Childhood 

yet  do  not  question  for  a  moment  their  ability  to  teach  them 
to  be  moral,  God-fearing  men  and  women?  The  fact  is  that 
instead  of  being  easy,  this  problem  is  one  of  the  most  difficult 
of  child  education,  because  of  its  complexity.  It  is  surely 
one  of  the  most  important,  because  the  effect  of  training  and 
environment  is  more  influential  here  than  in  the  field  of  in- 
tellect. Parents  are,  to  a  large  extent,  responsible  for  a  child's 
character  because  it  is  the  result  of  his  environment,  whereas 
his  intellect  is  a  result  of  heredity  over  which  they  have  less 
control.  In  the  field  of  morals  and  religion  perhaps  more 
than  in  others  we  need  to  apply  our  scientific  knowledge  of 
the  development  of  the  child.  We  need  further  to  apply  all 
our  methods  and  principles  of  good  teaching.  We  need  con- 
tinually to  bear  in  mind  that  this  field  is  in  no  way  innately 
different  from  others,  for  it  involves  all  others  and  is  involved 
in  every  other. 

Second,  the  existence  of  the  law  of  apperception  is  often 
overlooked  entirely  in  planning  for  a  child's  education  in  re- 
ligion and  morals.  When  this  law  is  ignored,  teaching  is 
futile,  no  matter  what  the  field.  Here,  just  as  in  every  other 
phase  of  child  development,  progress  is  gradual,  and  is  limited 
by  the  content  of  the  child's  experience.  It  must  be  from 
known  to  unknown  —  the  unknown  interpreted  in  terms  of 
the  known,  here  as  elsewhere.  A  child's  maturity,  his  expe- 
rience, his  interests  and  ideals,  his  habits,  his  knowledge  de- 
termine his  growth  and  interpretation  in  religion  and  morals 
just  as  surely  as  they  do  in  arithmetic  or  literature.  Why, 
because  adults  enjoy  thinking  of  children  as  Httle  lambs, 
should  the  self-respect  of  a  twelve-year-old  be  injured  by  hav- 
ing hun  join  in  singing  a  request  to  be  made  a  lamb  ?  Or,  for 
the  same  reason,  why  should  six-year-olds  be  compelled  to 
memorize  the  twenty-third  psalm  with  its  unfamiliar  meta- 
phors and  mature  experience?  Again,  to  appeal  to  motives 
of  abstract  right  in  Sunday  School  is  no  more  effective  than  to 
appeal  to  those  same  motives  in  day  school.    To  expect  a 


Sequent  Tendencies.    Morale  Religious  Development     239 

child  to  be  governed  by  moral  abstractions,  or  to  appreciate 
them,  when  his  advancement  in  science  is  still  in  the  nature 
study  stage,  and  in  arithmetic  he  is  still  using  apples  and  pen- 
cils and  boards,  is  silly.  And  yet  in  our  choice  of  subject 
matter  that  is  just  what  has  happened  over  and  over  again 
in  these  departments.  The  teachings  of  the  fourth  gospel, 
the  Beatitudes,  in  fact,  much  of  Pauline  theology  has  been  made 
the  subject  matter  of  Sunday  School  lessons  for  children  in 
the  primary  and  junior  departments.  This  material  embodies 
the  highest  moral  and  religious  ideals  of  the  adults  of  a  highly 
intellectual  people.  It  contains  much  more  than  many  mature 
minds  can  grasp ;  how  then  is  it  possible  for  children  to  get 
anything  from  it  save  misconceptions  ?  Such  abstractions  and 
ideals  must  grow  gradually  from  knowledge  and  experience. 
To  be  shocked  when  a  little  child  tries  to  bargain  with  God,  — 
"if  God  will  give  me  a  pony,  I  will  be  a  good  boy,"  is  simply 
to  show  complete  misunderstanding  of  child  nature.  God, 
religion,  other  people,  —  are  simply  for  the  child's  own  use 
and  pleasure,  at  first.  His  attitude  is  the  same  towards  all 
his  world.  To  put  adult  prayers  and  purposes  into  a  child's 
life  before  he  can  possibly  appreciate  or  understand  them  — 
when  his  general  life  is  quite  contrary  to  them  —  is  useless, 
even  dangerous. 

On  the  other  hand,  why  confine  a  ten-year-old  to  nothing 
but  stories  when  in  his  fifth  grade  day-school  work  he  has  been 
introduced  to  so  much  more?  And  why  omit  the  character 
studies,  debates,  literary  criticisms,  historical  outlines  for  the 
sixteen-year-old  when  they  are  so  familiar  a  feature  of  high 
school  study?  To  fail  to  go  on  to  the  unknown,  to  stay  with 
the  known  to  the  point  of  nauseating  boredom,  is  no  way  to 
use  the  law  of  apperception.  Again,  what  a  fooHsh  procedure 
it  is  in  the  treatment  of  morally  delinquent  adolescents,  who 
of  all  others  need  special  training,  to  subject  them  to  the  con- 
stant direction  due  the  five-year-old,  or  to  such  rigid  "  military 
discipline,"  in  isolation  from  the  other  sex,  that  they  never 


240 


Psychology  of  Childhood 


get  the  privilege  of  choice  nor  the  empirical  consideration  of 
group  needs  that  normal  life  in  the  teens  brings.  In  religious 
and  moral  matters,  as  elsewhere,  dependence  on  growth  and 

^experience  must  be  the  guiding  principle  in  planning  a  child's 
educafion. 

'  Third,' the  important  place  occupied  by  suggestion  in  this 
field  of  moral  and  rehgious  training  should  not  be  forgotten.. 
The  human  personaHties  surrounding  a  child  are  the  chief 
sourcrof  the  suggestions  which  to  such  a  large  extent  influence 
his  habits  and  mold  his  ideals.  The  baby  by  reflex  imitation 
shares  the  moods  and  emotional  attitudes  of  those  about  him ; 
later,  conscious  imitation  finds  its  material  in  the  actions  and 
words  of  his  companions.  Chums,  characters  in  books,  on 
the  stage,  in  history,  in  pubHc  Ufe  offer  suggestions  of  tre- 
mendous importance.  People  do  tend  to  grow  Uke  those  with 
whom  they  constantly  associate.  The  more  immature  the 
character,  the  more  this  is  true.  Hence  the  vital  importance 
of  having  little  children  surrounded  by  people  whose  moral 
and  religious  lives  are  worthy  to  be  copied,  for  copied  they 
surely  will  be,  both  consciously  and  unconsciously.  Hence 
the  need  of  having  the  friends  of  childhood  and  adolescence, 
and  the  characters,  whatever  their  source,  that  are  held  up  to 
admiration  those  whose  habits  and  ideals  are  good.  So  im- 
portant is  this  matter  of  the  power  of  suggestions  furnished 
by  characters  in  the  child's  environment  that  some  psychol- 
ogists will  go  so  far  as  to  claim  that  a  child's  moral  character 
is  set  before  he  enters  the  schoolroom. 

Fourth,  as  regards  habit  formation.  Law  of  effect. — :One 
of  the  strongest  factors  in  fixing  habits  of  all  kinds  is  pleasur- 
able results ;  to  have  punishment  follow  violation  of  a  desirable 

Jiabit  or  an  exhibition  of  its  opposite  is  not  nearly  so  effica- 
doiis.  Punishment  is  a  negative  procedure,  and  results  in  a 
cessation  of  the  desired  response  as  soon  as  the  punitive 
measure  is  removed.  Positive  satisfaction  jionnected  with 
^e^sought-for  response  is  the  method  far  to  be  preferred. 


I 


Sequent  Tendencies.     Moral,  Religious  Development     241 

This  means  that  the  environment  must  furnish  satisfaction 
of  some  kind  when  the  child  is  truthful,  obedient,  generous, 
self-controlled,  helpful.  Somehow  or  other,  Sunday  must 
be  a  day  to  which  he  looks  forward  with  pleasure ;  and  church- 
going,  prayer,  and  other  religious  observances  must  have  an 
interest  attached.  The  social  habits  formed  in  the  early 
years  must  be  put  on  the  same  level  as  all  other  habits  and 
treated  in  the  same  way.  Responses  that  bring  satisfaction 
are  the  ones  which  are  stamped  in,  whether  moral  or  immoral. 
The  child  having  no  power  of  discrimination,  no  distinct 
moral  sense,  welcomes  with  equal  readiness  responses  leading 
to  criminal  habits  and  responses  resulting  in  upright  living. 
The  element  he  instinctively  responds  to  is  satisfaction..  If- 
that  is  present,  then  the  response  will,  to  his  mind,  be  worth 
while.  Of  course  what  brings  satisfaction  must  vary  with 
the  age  of  the  child  and  his  previous  experience.^  The  motives 
appealed  to  will  vary  from  obtaining  the  physical  pleasure  of 
eating  candy  to  satisfaction  from  the  belief  in  divine  approval. 
The  essential  part  to  be  borne  in  mind  is  that  the  desired  re- 
sult is  a  real  satisfaction  to  the  particular  child.  Because 
the  motive  appealed  to  influences  children  in  general,  or  be- 
cause the  response  required  is  right,  means  nothing  in  getting 
a  particular  child  to  form  a  particular  habit  so  that  it  will  be 
permanent. 

Law  of  exercise. — Another  part  of  the  law  of  habit  forma- 
tion most  conspicuously  neglected  by  the  organizations  that 
exist  for  imparting  religious  and  moral  instruction  to  children, 
is  that  of  frequency.  Really  to  know  the  formulae  of  mathe- 
matics, or  the  facts  in  history  and  literature,  requires  plenty 
of  drilling,  the  expenditure  of  many  hours  a  week  for  many 
weeks  in  the  year  with  continual  review  and  use  in  new  ways 
as  the  years  succeed  each  other.  All  this  is  well  understood 
and  provided  for  in  the  day  school.  But  apparently  in  a  total 
of  fifty- two,  perhaps  of  only  thirty,  hours  in  a  whole  year, 
1  Note  Chapter  V. 

R 


242  Psychology  of  Childhood 

each  such  hour  given  over  to  many  and  varied  performances, 
much  of  it  wasted  by  poor  administration,  our  Protestant 
churches  expect  children  to  get  hold  of  facts  historical,  literary, 
and  doctrinal",  formulae  of  public  worship,  to  say  nothing  of 
inspiration  towards  right  living.  And,  upon  examination  of 
the  elaborate  courses  published  by  some  of  our  leading  houses 
or  denominations,  it  is  evident  that  next  to  no  provision  is 
made  for  any  drill,  repetition,  or  new  use  of  material  once  pre- 
sented. A  cycle  of  four  to  six  years  may  go  by  before  a  child  ^ 
ever  hears  a  given  story  a  second  time.  This  is  an  economic 
waste  of  machinery  as  well  as  a  pedagogic  error. 

Full  neurone  circuit  to  he  used.  —  gif  thjin  the  field  of  morals 
and  religion  the  danger  that  theory  becomes  divorced  from 
practice  is  a  very  real  one.  As  has  already  been  shown,  both 
'morality  and  religion  must  be  defined  in  terms  of  conduct.- 
Ethics  is  not  moraUty,  nor  is  theology  religion.  A  man  may 
know  the  rules  of  conduct  perfectly  and  yet  be  immoral.  He 
may  recite  a  creed  or  pass  examinations  in  theology,  and  yet 
be  irreligious.  Too  much  of  our  time  and  energy  has  been 
used  in  developing  the  knowing  side  in  religion  and  morals, 
while  the  conduct  and  the  emotions  have  received  but  second- 
ary attention.  It  should  be  clearly  understood  that  in  no 
sense  is  it  being  suggested  that  conduct  should  be  blind ;  in 
fact,  the  reverse  point  of  view  was  urged  through  the  beginning 
of  this  chapter.  On  the  other  hand,  knowledge  which  does 
not  function  in  conduct  is  futile  so  far  as  religion  and  morals 
are  concerned.  Because  instruction  in  morals  and  in  religion 
is  so  often  given  as  mere  classroom  exercises,  as  a  matter  of 
books  and  memory,  it  often  happens  that  such  instruction  does 
not  influence  conduct.  Vital  instruction  in  these  fields  can 
only  be  given  in  connection  with  some  living  situation  that 
calls  for  a  response.  KLnowledge  of  facts  is  surely  necessary 
in  order  that  judgment  may  be  exercised,  but  here  as  elsewhere, 
such  knowledge  means  most  when  it  is  the  natural  answer  to 
a  question  aroused  by  life  situations.    In  this  field  we  may 


Sequent  Tendencies.    Morale  Religious  Development     243 

need  to  seek  out,  or  to  create  opportunities  for  social  expe- 
riences so  as  to  provide  a  stimulating  environment  for  the 
developing  child  and  insure  the  reaUzation  of  the  familiar 
maxim  "  no  impression  without  expression." 

Sixth,  individual  diferences  count  quite  as  much  here  as  in 
other  fields.  Children  will  not  respond  to  instruction  and  train- 
ing in  religion  and  morals  in  just  the  same  way  any  more  than 
they  will  to  instruction  in  history  or  science,  in  fact  greater  dif- 
ferences are  likely  to  show  in  the  former  field  than  in  the  latter. 
Moral  and  religious  conduct  are  both  so  tremendously  complex, 
involving  as  they  do  intellect,  emotion,  and  action,  that  the 
chance  for  variation  in  response  is  very  great.  Some  children 
respond  chiefly  in  terms  of  thought ;  these  are  they  who  ask 
the  questions  so  difficult  to  answer.  Others  trouble  them- 
selves little  with  questions,  with  the  whys  and  wherefores, 
but  simply  live  as  best  they  can.  Still  others  respond  by 
feeling.  To  them  the  mystical  element  in  religion,  the  self- 
sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  the  group,  makes  its  appeal.  Each 
type  of  response  is  worthy,  but  each  needs  different  treatment. 
Again,  the  difference  in  the  power  of  suggestion  over  children 
of  different  natures  offers  another  problem.  Discussions  of 
big  moral  problems,  sex  questions,  questions  of  individual  re- 
sponsibility may  for  one  child  be  the  very  thing  necessary  to 
set  him  upon  his  feet  and  steady  his  judgment ;  for  another 
child  in  the  same  class,  such  discussion  offers  all  sorts  of  sug- 
gestions which  may  be  directly  harmful.  Hence  the  need  of 
much  individual  instruction  in  religion  and  morals,  and  the 
danger  of  relying  exclusively  on  classroom  instruction,  even 
of  allowing  any  classroom  instruction  at  all  along  some  lines. 

Transfer  of  training.  —  Seventh,  we  have  no  right  to  expect 
in  the  realm  of  morals  any  direct  transfer  of  a  habit  from  one 
line  to  another  dissimilar  one  with  no  focalization  of  an  ideal, 
no  learning  how  to  stand  the  strain  of  attention.  Because  a 
child  is  courteous  to  one  person  it  does  not  follow  that  he  is 
polite  to  all  others ;  that  he  tells  the  truth  in  some  situations 


2^  Psychology  of  Childhood 

does  not  mean  that  he  is  veracious  in  reality ;  that  he  is  care- 
less, disorderly,  or  forgetful  in  some  matters  does  not  involve 
negligence  of  others.  It  was  a  wise  mother  who  warned  her 
six-year-old  boy  on  the  eve  of  a  visit  to  relatives  to  mind  and 
obey  his  aunt  just  the  same  as  though  it  were  mother ;  but 
it  was  poor  policy  on  the  aunt's  part  to  go  off  for  the  day 
omitting  a  similar  precaution  with  regard  to  another  adult 
left  in  charge.  Here  as  elsewhere  there  must  be  training  in 
holding  the  attention  to  difficult  ideas,  in  formulating  judg- 
ments in  moral  situations,  in  making  many  specific  bonds 
between  situation  and  response. 

Training   and   instruction   at   different   ages.  —  There   is 

obviously  plenty  of  growth  involved  from  the  condition  of  the 

.     infant  to  that  of  the  moral  and  religious  adult: 

Howtnust  ,  , 

tTcdning  and  and  naturally,  morality  is  not  achieved  m  any 
"ch^fas  ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^  gradual  way.  Without  a  distinct  feel- 
chUdren  ing  of  self  there  can  be  Httle  development,  and  this 
grow  older?  ^^^  sense  grows  but  slowly,  dependent  as  it  is  on 
memory,  imagination,  and  the  companionship  of  other  people 
of  all  ages.  Ideals,  too,  are  generalizations ;  and  these  take 
time  to  be  formulated  independently  of  the  particular  situa- 
tions and  the  immediate  groups  of  experiences  from  which 
they  arise.  Ability  to  discriminate,  judge,  and  reason  is  re- 
fined little  by  little.  Habits  are  formed  by  degrees,  especially 
the  higher  hierarchies  concerned  with  wide  social  adjustment. 
Stages  not  sharply  defined.  —  A  careful  survey  of  the  years 
of  growth  will  reveal  several  fairly  well-recognizable  stages  of 
development.  Be  it  understood  that  these  stages  are  by  no 
means  sharply  defined.  Children  do  not  pass  magically  from 
the  first  to  the  second  with  their  eleventh  or  twelfth  birthday ; 
nor  do  they  pass  completely,  in  all  phases  of  their  nature  — 
habits,  choices,  ideals  —  from  one  stage  to  the  next  as  one 
passes  a  milestone.  Since  these  are  stages  of  growth,  here  as 
elsewhere  there  is  a  gradual  unfolding,  ripening,  becoming. 
With  increased  knowledge  and  larger  scope  of  judging,  more 


Sequent  Tendencies.    Moral,  Religious  Development     245 

opportunity  is  given  for  conduct  to  be  rationalized,  rather 
than  merely  habituated.  With  increased  age  and  a  less 
sheltered,  controlled  home  Hfe,  children  are  forced  to  individual 
thinking,  testing,  deciding,  choosing.  With  a  widening  en- 
vironment, earHer  standards  may  be  recognized  as  temporary 
or  inadequate,  and  a  process,  more  or  less  explicit,  of  recon- 
struction may  be  set  up.  With  frequent  contact  with  all 
sorts  of  people  inducing  friction,  emulation,  dislike,  admoni- 
tion, affection,  and  the  Uke,  motives  change  both  in  kind  and 
in  amount  of  impulsive  power.  But  these  changes  come 
about  unevenly,  so  that  children  may  be,  at  one  and  the  same 
time  of  their  physical  life,  in  all  three  stages  with  regard  to 
different  phases  of  their  social  and  reHgious  life.  However, 
there  are  predominant  characteristics  of  each  stage  more  or 
less  typical  of  different  ages  of  childhood. 

Very  early  stage.  —  The  first  stage  may  be  called  the  non- 
moral  since  at  the  beginning  children  are  too  young  for  rational 
choice,  and  their  conformity  to  law  is  secured  mainly  by  the 
law  of  effect  modifying  instincts  into  habits.  In  this  stage 
such  control  is  attained  firsts  by  incidental  pains  and  pleasures 
sequent  to  actions,  second  by  the  systematic  administration 
of  pains  and  pleasures  by  members  of  the  society  in  which 
children  find  themselves.  As  imagination  and  memory  de- 
velop the  controlling  factor  is  supplemented  by  the  anticipa- 
tion of  blame  or  praise,  and  still  later  by  some  sort  of  ideal. 
The  emotions  of  young  children  which  training  may  utihze 
^are  largely  fear,  love,  and  wonder.  Children  are  extremely 
credulous  in  this  first  stage,  accepting  undoubtingly  much  of 
what  is  told  them.  They  have  a  strong  sense  of  the  mysterious, 
too.  The  wind  is  felt  but  not  seen,  the  light  is  seen  but  not 
felt,  voices  are  neither  felt  nor  seen,  only  heard ;  so  by  analogy, 
it  is  not  a  far  step  to  a  postulating  of  a  mysterious  Being 
neither  felt,  heard,  nor  seen.  As  young  children  depend  on 
adults  for  the  needs  of  the  body  and  for  the  need  of  love,  so 
towards  them  the  earliest  trust,  love,  and  reverence  are  directed. 


246  Psychology  of  Childhood 


I 


Not  only  do  adults  relieve  pain,  they  occasionally  inflict  it 
to  bring  about  obedience;  thus  personahty  becomes  the 
strongest  factor  in  developing  the  sense  of  self,  and  a  greater 
mystery  than  the  forces  of  physical  nature.  Other  persons, 
too,  stimulate  imitation  and  imaginative  play.  From  the 
experience  with  these  surroundings  is  born  the  "  conscience," 
which  inevitably  reflects  the  customs,  standards,  and  char- 
acters of  those  nearest.  What  is  right,  is  what  results  in 
satisfaction  to  the  children  themselves  and  brings  approval 
from  other  people.  Little  children  need  an  atmosphere  of  _ 
love,  trust,  and  social  harmony,  full  and  healthful  provision 
for  physical  needs  including  rigid  training  in  habits  of  regu- 
larity and  cleanliness.  They  should  find  that  it  pays  to  do 
right,  or  to  wait  for  the  greater  good,  or  to  endure  pains  and 
disappointments  bravely.  Sense  perception  and  love  of 
nature  should  be  cultivated  and  the  formation  of  habits  of 
obedience,  truthfulness,  courtesy,  helpfulness  begun.  Stories  4 
of  nature,  myths,  and  wonder  tales  should  intensify  the  emo-  ] 
tions  of  awe  and  mystery,  while  God  may  be  represented  as 
something  rather  vague  and  distant  rather  than  as  an  indul- 
gent parent.  Almost  invariably  children  form  an  anthropo- 
morphic concept  of  deity  at  this  stage  based  on  analogies  of 
father  and  mother;  beyond  that,  they  may  posit  either  a 
watchful  presence  judicially  or  beneficently  inclined  according 
to  the  teaching  received,  or  a  magic  worker,  or  a  confidante  to 
whom  they  may  chatter  of  the  day's  doings.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  the  main  appeal  in  instruction  should  be  to 
the  emotional,  imaginative,  intuitive  side  rather  than  to  the 
higher  intellectual,  presenting  dogma  which  cannot  be  as- 
similated and  may  later  have  to  be  rejected.  Children  in 
this  early  stage  may  have  simple  habits  of  private  and  family 
worship  inculcated,  and  begin  before  six  to  share  in  social 
worship  with  a  large  group  also. 

This  first  stage  is  often  called  non-religious.     True,  from 
three  to  six  years  old  a  child  may  ask  more  questions  about 


Sequent  Tendencies.    Moral,  Religious  Development     247 

the  causes  of  things  and  the  nature  of  God  than  the  most 
erudite  theologian  can  answer;  but  this  curiosity  does  not 
mark,  necessarily,  the  beginning  of  either  a  scientist  or  a 
devotee.  These  questions,  as  also  the  early  fears,  personal 
attachments,  and  sociability,  show  us  the  line  of  least  resistance 
for  the  development  of  a  religious  consciousness.  How  amaz- 
ing to  the  modern  psychologist  is  the  regret  of  Cotton  Mather 
and  others  like  him  that  a  child  under  seven  did  not  show  much 
sense  of  sin  nor  concern  for  her  soul's  salvation !  Scarcely 
less  arresting,  however,  is  the  spectacle  of  the  pious  ten-year- 
old  who  anxiously  scans  a  line  of  conduct  before  embarking 
on  it  to  see  if  it  is  right  and  acceptable  to  God,  and  who  begs 
to  be  told  of  her  faults  that  she  may  eradicate  them.  The 
normal  mental  activity  of  the  first  case,  the  healthy,  animal- 
istic unconcern  of  the  second,  the  morbid  introspection  of  the 
third  are  none  of  them  religious  or  irreHgious,  though  from 
each  may  come  a  contributing  factor  to  the  later  religious 
consciousness. 

Middle  stage.  —  The  age  from  six  or  seven  to  about  ten 
forms  part  of  what  Kirkpatrick  calls  the  period  of  competitive 
socialization,  called  also  childhood  by  Chrisman,   what  is  the 
early  childhood  by  Coe,  boy-  and  girl-hood  by  formative 
Tigerstedt.  ^^"^^' 

Characteristics. — During  these  years  children  are  influ- 
enced by  a  greater  diversity  of  factors  in  their  moral  education 
than  in  the  preceding  years.  They  begin  to  go  to  school  and 
to  live  more  independently  of  their  own  family ;  they  meet  and 
deal  with  many  others  hear  their  own  age.  In  their  games 
and  companionship  with  other  children  they  form  a  rough 
ideal  of  give  and  take,  of  justice,  fair  play,  and  physical  bravery. 
Being  keen  and  zealous  for  their  own  rights  and  pleasures  they 
soon  come  to  guard  against  any  actions  of  others  that  curtail 
these;  but  they  find  that  their  own  deeds  are  in  turn  sub- 
mitted to  the  same  jealous  scrutiny  by  their  playmates.  Thus 
cheating  in  a  game,  or  greediness,  early  rank,  from  the  child's 


248  Psychology  of  Childhood 

point  of  view,  as  wrongs,  undeniably  if  they  themselves  are 
the  sufferers  thereby,  vaguely  so  if  their  fellows  resent  such 
conduct  in  them.  From  the  pure  individuaHsm  of  the  earliest 
years  they  progress  to  membership  in  a  clique  or  gang  the  units 
of  which  may  indeed  quarrel  and  nag  among  themselves,  but  are 
at  least  united  against  outsiders.  Thus,  empirically,  they  adopt 
into  their  moral  code  as  wrong,  cruel  teasing,  the  He,  excuse, 
tale-bearing,  or  cowardice  that  betrays  a  friend.  Meanwhile 
their  standards  of  courtesy,  truth-telling  in  the  abstract,  obedi- 
ence, and  those  other  virtues  to  which  the  adults  about  them 
may  or  may  not  be  training  them,  are  most  likely  quite  unde- 
veloped, chaotic,  or  formulated  in  talking-machine  fashion. 

At  this  age  there  is  less  unquestioning  acceptance  of  what  is 
taught,  rather  an  awakening  of  increduHty  due  to  an  increas- 
ing desire  for  certainty.  The  interest  shifts  from  wonder 
tales  to  true  narrative,  history,  and  hero  tales.  There  is  a 
capacity  for  more  prolonged  attention,  for  greater  responsi- 
bility, and  particularly  for  a  great  deal  of  rote  memorizing. 
The  perceptive  powers  are  still  in  advance  of  the  reasoning. 
The  moral  sense  is  derived  from  custom ;  shame  arises  not  from 
the  consciousness  of  having  performed  an  unlawful  deed,  but 
from  having  been  found  out.  Virtues  are  acquired  by  imitation, 
not  by  conviction.  Approbation  of  one's  social  equals  becomes 
gradually  more  important  than  that  of  those  in  authority,  as 
many  a  teacher  knows  to  her  cost.  There  is  a  rising  desire  for 
independence.  The  idea  of  God  is  more  that  of  a  big  Father 
than  that  of  a  big  Man  as  in  the  preceding  stage.  Girls  are 
more  prone  to  superstitious  behefs  than  are  boys,  apparently. 

Their  training  and  instruction  must  allow  for  these  char- 
acteristics. As  the  character  may  be  formed  largely  by  sug- 
WhatpHn-  gestion  and  imitation,  the  surrounding  personah- 
Ji^def^r'*'  ^^^  ^^^^  s^^^l  provide  the  fitting  material  for  the 
trainingin  spontaneous  expression  of  the  child's  highest  self. 
thispenodr  Consistency,  as  well  as  correctness  of  example,  is 
of  the  highest  unportance.     Children  soon  see  the  discrepancy 


I 


Sequent  Tendencies.    Moral,  Religious  Development     249 

between  the  teaching  and  actions  of  other  people,  and  as  this 
is  a  gap  which  needs  closing  in  their  own  lives,  it  is  well  to 
present  the  example  of  "  applied  ethics  "  before  creeds. 

There  should  be  consistency  too  in  the  matter  of  rewards 
and  punishments,  so  that  the  ear  Her  desire  to  please  others 
may  be  clearly  directed  to  pass  over  into  a  conscious  deter- 
mination to  do  what  is  known  as  the  right.  The  habit  of 
implicit  obedience  is  still  the  foundation  for  later  faith  and  the 
other  virtues,  though  it  begins  now  to  be  transformed  into 
rational  obedience.  Self-control  must  be  developed  in  newer 
and  newer  fields.  They  must  learn  that  though  there  are 
many  matters  in  which  their  preferences  may  be  consulted, 
there  are  also  very  many  occasions  when  "  I  don't  like  to," 
or  "  I  don't  want  to  "  makes  not  a  particle  of  difference  to 
the  necessity  for  action.  Not  to  learn  this  lesson  early  is  a 
tremendous  handicap  in  the  later,  adolescent  period.  Adults 
should  help  children  to  distinguish  clearly  between  times  when 
they  may  choose  what  is  to  be  done,  and  times  when  it  is  not 
a  question  of  choice,  only  of  loyal  and  prompt  carrying  out  of 
orders.  There  must  be  an  inexorable  holding  to  account  for 
deeds  good  or  bad  that  children  may^feel  the  force  of  social 
law  and  individual  responsibility.  Impulses  to  mischief  or 
teasing  which  result  in  unhappiness  to  others  or  harm  must 
be  inhibited  in  favor  of  impulses  leading  to  generous,  kindly, 
courteous  behavior.  Habits  that  are  the  foundations  of  later 
sexual  purity  must  be  formed  and  their  opposites  carefully 
guarded  against. 

On  the  instruction  side,  the  more  realistic  imagination,  love 
of  formalism  and  ritual,  ready  rote  memorizing,  curiosity  in- 
stigating eyes  and  hands  to  explore  are  signals  all  too  ^r,  .. 
frequently  ignored  in  the  direction  of  moral  and  ingcanbe 
religious  teaching  of  children  from  eight  years  old  Qiveninthis 
on.     During  this  period  they  should  be  approached 
mainly  through  action  and  feeling  rather  than  through  ideas 
and  abstractions.     It  is  easy  to  talk  to  children  in  symbolic 


2SO 


Psychology  of  Childhood 


or  abstract  terms,  but  their  daily  experience  is  far  behind  in 
its  degree  of  abstraction ;  we  should  remember  that  symbols 
are  appreciated  only  after  the  things  for  which  they  stand 
have  been  felt  as  realities.  Meanwhile,  children  understand 
conduct  in  terms  of  personality ;  morality  for  them  is  con- 
crete and  immediate,  to  be  lived  rather  than  discussed.  We 
should  work  with  them  on  the  active  and  practical  rather  than 
on  the  passively  intellectual  and  theoretical  side.  Action  and 
feeling  can  be  right  before  concepts  are  formulated ;  in  fact, 
all  concepts  need  this  very  broad  basis  of  particular  instances, 
even  though  they  are  moral  and  religious  ideas.  The  natural 
childish  curiosity  in  sex  matters  should  be  satisfied  simply 
and  with  absolute  veracity  rather  than  met  with  refusal  to 
answer  or  equivocation.  Repression' will  lead  only  to  their 
seeking,  and  usually  getting,  misinformation  from  impure 
sources,  working  harm  that  is  difficult  to  undo;  evasion  or 
falsehood  will  engender  a  distrust  of  the  adult  when  later  en- 
lightenment comes,  and  raise  a  barrier  of  silence  perhaps  never 
to  be  torn  down  in  adolescent  years  when  boys  and  girls  need 
a  wise  confidante.  Sex  information  should  be  given  inciden- 
tally, but  simply  and  as  a  matter  of  course,  changing  the  prob- 
able atmosphere  of  mystery  into  reverence,  perhaps  scientific 
interest  and  poetic  appreciation.  In  imparting  religious  facts, 
catechisms  and  homilies  should  be  replaced  by  a  giving  of 
information  through  dramatic  stories  of  the  duties  and  virtues 
expected  at  this  age  i  any  code  given  must  be  true  for  all  time, 
especially  in  its  disciplinary  values.  It  is  cruel  to  teach  reH- 
gious  doctrines  that  cannot  be  understood,  and  that  may  have 
to  be  imleamed  or  rejected  later.  Advantage  should  be  taken 
of  the  power  of  memorization  to  present  the  best  of  the  sacred 
literature  such  as  can  be  approximately  grasped,  and  the  poetic 
beauty  of  which  can  be  partly  appreciated.  To  fail  to  do 
this  in  the  years  before  twelve  is  to  deprive  children  of  what 
they  would  otherwise  come  to  look  back  upon  as  one  of  the 
most  valuable  means  of  arousing  and  sustaining  their  interest 


Sequent  Tendencies.    Morale  Religious  Development     251 

in  spiritual  things.  There  is  scarcely  any  limit  that  need  be 
set  to  the  degree  of  famiharity  with  the  biography,  history, 
and  poetry  of  sacred  writings.  In  them  children  have  a  birth- 
right such  as  they  have  not  in  the  stories  of  the  Odyssey  or 
Iliad.  Emotionally  and  inspirationally  the  effect  of  this 
early,  everyday  acquaintance  with  the  literature  and  history 
of  their  religion  is  as  noticeable  as  any  other  single  thing  in 
their  environmental  influence.  Habits  of  religious  observance 
in  the  home,  in  public,  and  for  personal  use  should  be  formed 
for  immediate  needs,  though  also  as  a  safeguard  in  future 
upheavals.  Regularity,  simplicity,  and  dignity  should  be 
their  main  characteristics. 

This  early,  non-moral,  non-religious  stage  passes  imper- 
ceptibly into  the  transition  period,  beginning  perhaps  with 
pubescence,  perhaps  with  early  adolescence.    This  ^^hatare 
period  is  marked  chiefly  by  the  greater  personaH-  thechar- 
zation  of  moral  teachings,  by  an  awakening  self-  If^TeT"- 
consciousness   in   matters   religious.     Though   be-  pubertal 
tween  ten  and  twelve  children  rarely  tolerate  much  ^^^^^^ 
direct,  individual  appHcation  of  moral  truth,  by  fifteen  a  girl 
is  frequently  anxious  for  such ;   and  before  the  teens  are  past 
the  great  majority  of  personalizations  have  taken  place  for 
both  sexes.     Girls  develop  rather  sooner  than  boys  and  tend 
to  be  more  introspective  and  individuaHstic ;    even  before 
twelve  their  ethical  sense  will  make  possible  a  truly  moral 
habit  while  boys  seem  still  in  the  "  barbarian  age."     For  boys 
especially  it  is  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  gang,  for  love 
of  adventure,  feats  of  skill  bringing  out  courage  and  reckless- 
ness, later  of  love  of  teamwork. 

Training  should  provide  many  and  varied  outlets  for  physi- 
cal activity,  should  throw  larger  responsibiHty  on  habits  of 
decision  and  choice,  should  recognize  and  direct  the  gang 
spirit  in  boys,  providing  and  guiding  social  companionship 
rather  than  seeking  to  eliminate  or  suppress  it.  The  dramatic 
and  imaginative  instincts  may  be  appealed  to  in  religious 


2r2  Psychology  of  Childhood 

ceremonies,  the  love  of  competition  and  rivalry  by  emphasis 
on  progress.  Instruction  may  still  center  around  historical 
and  literary  characters,  suggesting  rather  than  formulating 
ideals.  The  interest  in  language  so  often  shown  in  the  use  of 
asecret  tongue,  in  enjoyment  of  puns,  conundrums,  epigrams, 
and  the  like  has  not  been  so  widely  utiUzed  as  it  might  have 
been.  It  may  be  the  foundation  of  acquaintance  with,  and 
appreciation  of,  the  wisdom  literature ;  but  the  teacher  should 
ascertain  that  it  meets  a  felt  need  in  individual  cases,  and  is 
not  merely  a  matter  of  rote  memory. 

Of  the  adolescent  period  we  have  many  studies.  Its  main 
characteristics  are  well  known  since  the  exhaustive  work  of 
™^^  Stanley  Hall.    Others  who  have  contributed  to 

changes  are  our  knowledge  of  the  development  of  the  religious 
prominent       j^^  q£  ^^^  nature  at  this  time  are  Lancaster,  Leuba, 

in  early  '  ' 

addles-  Jamcs,  Daniels,  Slaughter,  Slattery,  Coe,  and  Star- 
cence?  buck.  A  review  of  the  more  important  bases  for 
moral  and  religious  education  is  all  that  is  necessary  now. 

Characteristics. — Rapid  physiological  changes  take  place, 
and  these,  together  with  the  probable  changes  in  home  life  and 
the  sharing  of  wider  community  activities,  make  the  period 
peculiarly  difficult  to  Uve  through  with  poise.  Though  there 
is  already  a  large  system  of  organized  personal  habits,  yet 
strong,  intense  new  impulses  from  within,  fresh  customs  and 
standards  without,  the  new  feeling  of  individuality  and  the 
immaturity  of  the  will  combine  to  provide  ordeals  that  test 
the  adolescent  in  all  sorts  of  ways.  New  possibiHties  open 
up  in  the  way  of  emotions,  interests,  feelings  of  self,  capacities 
for  reasoning,  reorganization  of  the  personal  Hfe  in  its  rela- 
tionship to  the  Divine  and  to  the  larger  social  wholes.  There 
is  a  heightened  sensitiveness  to  the  phenomena  of  Nature, 
greater  appreciation  of  the  beautiful,  the  good,  and  the  true, 
with  the  beginning  of  abstract  questionings.  The  whole 
being  is  likely  to  be  in  a  ferment  from  twelve  to  sixteen,  though 
temperamental  differences  are  an  important  factor  in  deter- 


I 


Sequent  Tendencies.    Moral,  Religious  Development     253 

mining  the  length  and  intensity  of  the  emotional  activities  of 
the  period.  The  social  nature  is  being  born,  as  it  were,  at  a 
psychic  crisis,  so  that  at  no  time  is  there  apt  to  be  greater  dis- 
parity between  insight  and  power  to  act,  between  judgment 
and  moral  control ;  at  no  time  is  the  moral  equiUbrium  more 
easily  upset. 

What  is  known  as  the  "  storm  and  stress  "  period  is  char- 
acteristic of  many.  It  may  last  from  months  to  years  and 
present  one  or  more  acute  phases.  Essentially  it  is  that  reali- 
zation of  duality  needing  unification  referred  to  earlier.  Other 
individuals  experience  a  very  gradual,  quiet  religious  awaken- 
ing, an  orderly  maturing  of  the  ethical,  intellectual,  and  aes- 
thetic nature  while  the  progress  in  morals  comes  about  im- 
perceptibly, keeping  pace  with  the  felt  deeper  meanings  of 
the  intellectual  life  till  intelligence  controls  and  directs  the 
feelings.  A  third  type  are  conscious  of  some  definite  surrender 
of  personality  to  the  Divine.  This  phenomenon,  known  as 
conversion,  lasts  in  its  various  stages  about  one  fifth  the  time 
that  the  storm  and  stress  period  lasts,  so  that,  psychologically, 
it  is  much  like  a  foreshortening  or  epitome  of  that  experience. 
Conversions,  awakenings  spontaneous  or  special,  storm  and 
stress  acute  stage,  or  period  of  carelessness,  come  at  about 
the  same  age,  fifteen  to  seventeen  for  boys,  fourteen  or  so  for 
girls.  The  ages  twelve  to  thirteen  and  nineteen  to  twenty 
are  also  critical  from  the  point  of  view  of  an  upheaval  in 
conduct,  emotions,  or  intellect. 

Treatment. — From  all  this  consideration  of  the  adolescent 
period  there  come  some  clear  suggestions  for  the  religious  and 
moral  education.  In  a  general  way  it  may  be  said  How  can  the 
that  the  needs  should  be  met  fully  at  every  point.  "  '^^" '' °^^ 
.The  process  of  gradual,  even,  symmetrical  growth  guisbe 
should  be  aimed  at  rather  than  violent  experiences  ^^^P^d? 
of  any  kind.  It  is  better  not  to  bring  great  pressure  to  bear 
from  the  environment  towards  definite  religious  experiences. 
With  some  natures  these  things  are  possible,  with  some  they 


254  Psychology  of  Childhood 

are  not,  whereas  development  is  possible  for  all ; .  and  it  is  the 
part  of  wisdom  to  provide  all  things  necessary  for  a  normal 
growth  rather  than  to  attempt  any  surgical  reconstruction 
of  an  individual.  Much  emotional  excitement  will  only  ag- 
gravate the  less  desirable  features. 

A  sane,  healthy  home  atmosphere  will  be  of  the  greatest 
possible  help  to  the  adolescent,  with  wise,  sympathetic  tolera- 
tion of  any  extremes  and  vagaries.  The  secretiveness  so  com- 
mon to  both  sexes  makes  it  difficult  to  be  certain,  in  individual 
cases,  of  the  best  channel  through  which  to  offer  help.  How- 
ever, the  attitude  of  "  common  sense  "  on  the  part  of  the  adult, 
of  taking  the  boy's  or  girl's  experiences  as  only  natural,  to  be 
expected,  as  a  matter  of  course  —  when  they  occur,  not  in- 
ducing them  —  will  do  much  to  encourage  openness  with  some 
natures  and  help  counteract  the  agony  of  doubt  or  the  morbid 
introspection.  Some  others  are  best  helped  by  a  treatment 
of  their  case  as  especially  interesting  though  not  dangerous, 
and  not  to  be  classed  and  massed  with  other  typical  cases. 
Either  way,  difficulties  should  be  treated  seriously,  rather  than 
minimized,  and  confidence  inspired  by  wise  counsel.  Over 
70  per  cent  of  girls  have  been  aUenated  from  their  mothers 
at  this  period  by  a  harsh,  deprecatory,  or  tactless  treatment. 

Authority  should  gradually  relax  and  greater  responsibility 
be  thrown  upon  the  individual.  ''  Obey  me  "  should  become 
'*  Obey  yourself."  Boys  and  girls  must  learn  to  meet  crises 
for  themselves,  to  readjust  their  actions  to  the  demands  of 
the  larger  social  unit  of  which  they  are  coming  to  realize  them- 
selves members.  They  must  face  and  decide  questions  for 
themselves,  and  relate  the  value  of  their  individual  acts  and 
immediate  activities  to  the  broader  system  of  morality  which 
they  can  now  appreciate.  Problems  should  seldom  be  solved 
for  them,  but  many  interests  should  be  provided,  especially 
those  leading  to  wholesome  activities.  A  healthy  body, 
plenty  of  mental  occupation,  and  abundant  outlet  for  physical, 
aesthetic,  social,  and  ethical  needs  will  help  form  habits  of 


Sequent  Tendencies.    Moral,  Religious  Development     255 

untold  value.  Physical  disturbances  may  be  the  sole  cause  of  a 
morbid  conscience  which  has,  indeed,  been  described  as  a  case 
of  "  nerves."    Action  rather  than  theory  should  be  emphasized. 

Foolish  questioning  may  be  replaced  by  wiser  study,  by 
careful  direction  of  the  reading,  and  by  making  opportunity 
for  larger  social  service.  At  no  time  is  the  doctrine  of  *'  learn- 
ing by  doing  "  more  important,  nor  the  need  of  living  up  to 
the  faith  of  which  one  is  possessed.  Introspection  and  spiritual 
vivisection  should  yield  to  the  impetus  from  within  outward. 
''  Something  to  love,  something  to  know  and  something  to  do  " 
is  necessary  for  the  unfolding  nature.  Personal  friendships 
should  be  watched  over,  though  discreetly  at  a  distance,  and 
guided  and  controlled  as  far  as  may  be  courteous  and  possible. 
Hero-worship  in  Hterature,  history,  or  in  current  Hfe  may  be 
partially  directed  at  least  by  presenting  and  dwelling  on  char- 
acters worthy  of  such  devotion.  Abstract  ideas  may  also 
be  presented  and  ideals  formulated;  though,  paradoxically, 
personality  has  a  new  meaning  and  influence.  Broader 
studies  should  be  gradually  introduced  in  history,  literature, 
and  ethics.  Sacred  literature  and  religious  history  will  give 
greater  content  to  the  individual  experience.  The  Bible 
should  be  taught  as  literature  still  rather  than  as  dogma,  but 
in  later  adolescence  doctrinal  studies  and  the  study  of  church 
history  or  of  comparative  religions  will  prove  fruitful.  In- 
struction in  dogma  and  doctrine  will  be  in  place  earlier  with 
girls  than  with  boys,  and  with  some  natures  than  with  others. 
When  doubts  come,  adolescents  should  be  taught  to  be  very 
patient  and  tolerant  with  them,  and  on  no  account  to  let  them 
interfere  with  their  morality.  They  must  regard  doubt  not 
as  extinction  of  behef,  but  as  reconstruction  with  exclusions, 
a  phenomenon  of  change  of  concepts.  Historical  and  critical 
study  of  the  Bible  will  be  a  help  here,  followed  by  philosophy 
and  ethics. 

For  boys  especially,  the  organizing  craze  must  be  met 
successfully,  and  social  companionship  pro\^ided  with  some 


2^5  Psychology  of  Childhood 

physical  activity  as  its  immediate  end.  For  both  girls  and 
boys,  sex  instruction  is  absolutely  imperative;  purity  and 
consistency  of  life  should  be  linked  forever  with  their  religious 
experience.  Religion  should  pick  up  all  tendencies  which 
are  organizing  in  a  new  way  and  give  to  them  its  own  specific, 
deeper  meaning. 

Only  after  the  period  of  transition  may  we  speak  of  the  in- 
dividual as  truly  moral,  when  with  maturity  he  brings  his 
conduct  into  line  with  his  reasoned  choices.  Though  this 
merges  into  the  adolescent  period,  and  though  in  different 
aspects  of  personality  there  is  a  continual  fluctuation  from  one 
period  to  the  other,  it  lies  mainly  beyond  the  ages  treated 
here,  and  so  falls  outside  the  scope  of  this  study. 

Exercises 

I.  Of  what  ages,  roughly,  are  these  statements  *  true? 

A.  "There  is  a  keen  intellectual  appetite  for  facts.  The  child 
wants  to  know  of  every  story  'Is  it  true?'  ...  At  this  age  the 
choicest  literature  can  be  memorized  even  though  the  meaning  be 
only  partially  understood,  .  .  .  there  is  reasoning  but  not  abstract, 
.  .  .  concrete  examples  alone  appeal.  .  .  .  Habits  of  conduct 
are  rapidly  formed,  the  proper  motive  for  which  may  not  be  deeply 
felt.  .  .  .  The  capacity  for  unselfishness  is-.  .  .  as  yet  only 
budding." 

B.  "  This  age  is  characterized  by  a  feeling  of  personal  honor, 
by  a  keen  sense  of  justice  manifesting  itself  rather  more  in  in- 
sistence upon  one's  own  rights  than  in  regard  for  duties  to  others, 
by  a  strong  love  for  the  heroic  and  desire  to  emulate  it,  by  a  long- 
ing for  larger  activities  .  .  .  especially  by  the  growth  of  a  sense 
of  relationship  to  other  persons.  .  .  .  Through  other  lives  .  .  . 
the  child  may  ...  be  led  to  find  God  in  his  or  her  own  life." 

C.  "Surplus  energy  is  the  most  prominent  feature  .  .  .  there 
is  only  a  small  amount  of  knowledge  .  .  .  undeveloped  thought 
power  and  liUle*  power  of  attention.  .  .  .  This  is  the  age  in 
which  the  child  is  gathering  knowledge  not  by  study  or  thought 
but  through  the  senses.  ...    Its  training  in  ethical  and  religious 

»  Taken  from  the  Bible  Study  Union  Series  of  teachers'  manuals. 


Sequent  Tendencies.     Moral,  Religious  Development     257 

knowledge  must  be  quite  largely  by  concrete  illustrations.  .  .  . 
His  desires  are  largely  selfish,  the  teacher  should  therefore  .  .  . 
appeal  primarily  to  the  feelings  ...  so  that  the  child  is  led  to 
want  to  do  right. 

2.  For  what  ages  are  the  following  materials  or  methods  suit- 
able for  religious  instruction : 

Lives  of  heroes ;  the  history  of  religion ;  myths  and  wondertales ; 
memorizing  Psalms  19,  i ;  history  in  story  form ;  fables  and 
parables ;  memorizing  liturgical  prayers ;  history  from  the  Exodus 
to  4  A.D. ;  memorizing  i  Cor,  13,  the  Beatitudes ;  memorizing 
hymns;  doctrinal  teaching  of  the  New  Testament;  memorizing 
proverbs ;  inspirational  biographies ;  literary  study  of  single  books ; 
sand-table  maps;  crayon  and  picture  pasting;  dramatic  repre- 
sentation; diagrams,  charts,  and  statistical  work;  stereoscopic 
views;  map-drawing. 

3.  Of  what  moral  value  is  the  "gang"  tendency  in  the  years 
10  to  15? 

4.  What  accounts  for  the  constant  disputes  and  bickerings  of 
children  from  9  to  13?     Would  you  check  it?    Why,  or  why  not? 

5.  What  is  probably  lacking  in  the  moral  education  of  children 
brought  up  in  an  institution  run  on  the  congregate  plan  ? 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  What  would  you  do  with  a  child  who  is  too  easily  influenced ? 

2.  How  would  you  deal  with  obstinacy  in  a  little  child? 

3.  What  can  you  do  for  the  very  selfish  fifteen-year-old? 

4.  How  would  you  help  cure  exaggeration  in  a  ten-year-old? 

5;  Give  some  suggestions  for  dealing  with  cruelty  in  a  six-year- 
old;  impudence  in  a  twelve-year-old  girl;  obscenity  in  the  years 
eight  to  twelve ;  bullying  on  the  playground. 

References  for  Reading 

Third  Year-book  of  the  National  Herbart  Society,  1897. 
G.  A.  Coe,  Education  in  Religion  and  Morals. 
W.  B.  Forbush,  The  Boy  Problem. 
G.  Hodge,  The  Training  of  Children  in  Religion. 
I.  S.  Wile,  Sex  Education. 
J.  A.  Puffer,  The  Boy  and  His  Gang. 
M.  Slattery,  The  Girl  in  Her  Teens. 
s 


CHAPTER  XIV 
PHYSICAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  CHH^D 

GOOD  HEALTH  AS  A  SCHOOL  RESPONSIBILITY.  — 

It  is  a  generally  accepted  educational  principle  that  the 
school  as  well  as  the  family  has  a  definite  duty 
he%hoM^  with  regard  to  the  physical  development  of  chil- 
of  the  aims  dren.  In  discussion  most  teachers  would  admit 
^schoS?  ^^  principle,  but  in  actual  practice  not  half  enough 
is  being  done  for  the  health  of  children,  despite  the 
tremendous  changes  of  the  last  ten  years.  Even  compared 
with  what  has  actually  been  accompHshed  in  some  of  the 
European  countries,  we  are  lagging  woefully  in  the  rear. 
There  are  several  causes  for  this  state  of  affairs.  First,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  infectious  diseases,  the  parents  have  the 
final  word  with  regard  to  the  physical  side  of  child  nature. 
The  school  can  act  in  things  intellectual  and  things  moral  (to 
some  extent),  but  it  is  the  prerogative  of  the  home  to  decide 
in  most  things  physical.  For  instance,  the  school  autlY)rities 
may  say  that  the  child  must  stay  in  this  or  that  class,  although 
even  this  power  is  limited  in  some  directions ;  they  may  sus- 
pend the  child  from  school  attendance  for  bad  behavior,  or 
perhaps  send  him  to  the  truant  school  or  the  class  for  in- 
corrigibles;  but  when  it  comes  to  a  child's  need  for  glasses, 
or  to  have  adenoids  removed,  or  for  different  food,  or  for 
more  exercise,  —  the  school  can  do  nothing  but  recommend, 
—  the  parents  decide.  Second,  although  convinced  in  theory 
that  it  is  part  of  their  duty  to  conserve  the  health  of  the  child, 
most  teachers  in  practice  allow  the  matter  to  be  pushed  into 
the  background,  or  to  be  forgotten  entirely  by  the  pressure 

258 


Physical  Development  of  the  Child  259 

of  the  demands  of  lessons.  The  field  is  comparatively  so 
new  that  its  importance  has  yet  to  become  vital,  not  only  to 
teachers  but  also  to  parents.  Third,  the  lack  of  free  clinics 
for  treatment  of  all  kinds  handicaps  the  work  seriously  in  all 
but  the  large  cities.  It  is  generally  acknowledged  that,  in 
rural  districts,  the  physical  health  of  children  is  worse  along 
some  lines  than  in  urban  districts,  despite  the  crowded  con- 
ditions of  the  latter.  These  three  difficulties  will  have  to  be 
met  before  the  physical  side  of  child  nature  will  receive  its 
fair  share  of  attention. 

Interdependence  of  mind  and  body.  —  The  reasons  for 
the  responsibility  of  the  school  in  this  matter  are,  first,  if  the 
school  is  to  train  the  minds  of  boys  and  girls,  it  must  look 
after  their  bodie$;'t?)o-,  for  the  well-being  of  the  one  is  depend- 
ent on  the  health  of  the  other.  We  are  slowly  reinstating 
the  aim  of  J:he'  ancient  Greeks,  "  a  sound  mind  in  a  sound 
body."  Just  how  far  the  two  are  interdependent  is  a  ques- 
tion not  yet  answered.  How  great  a  handicap  is  poor  health, 
or  the  presence  of  various  defects,  or  of  unbalanced  nervous 
condition,  we  do  not  know.  That  it  is  a  handicap,  that 
some  defects  are  a  very  serious  handicap,  there  can  be  no 
doubt.  Consider  the  following  facts,  (i)  Porter  ^  found  in 
his  examination  of  34,500  St.  Louis  school  children  that 
pupils  of  any  age  who  were  above  their  normal  grade  were 
heavier  and  taller  than  those  of  the  same  age  who  were  below 
their  normal  grade.  For  instance,  the  average  weight  of 
ii-year-old  boys  in  the  sixth  grade  was  73.34  lb.;  in  the 
fifth  grade  71.29  lb.;  in  the  fourth  grade  69.24  lb.;  in  the 
third  grade  68.12  lb.;  in  the  second  grade  65.45  lb.;  and  in 
the  first  grade  only  63.5  lb.  (2)  Adult  mental  defectives  are 
on  the  average  more  defective  all  round  physically  than  normal 
men  and  women.     (3)  Warner^  and  Ayres^  both  found  a 

1  Trans.  Acad.  Science,  St.  Louis,  6;   1894. 

2  Warner,  The  Study  of  Children,  ch.  13. 

3  Ayres,  Laggards  in  Our  Schools,  p.  125. 


26o  Psychology  of  Childhood 

larger  percentage  of  physical  defects,  of  poorly  nourished  an( 
nervous  children  among  the  dull  than  among  average  chil 
dren.  (4)  The  removal  of  certain  physical  defects  and  the 
improvement  of  health  conditions  have  been  followed  in 
numerous  cases  by  definite,  and  in  some  cases  by  remarkable, 
changes  in  mental  capacity  and  moral  balance.  No  attempt 
is  being  made  to  say  which  is  cause  and  which  effect  in  the 
first  three  lines  of  evidence  quoted.  The  same  general  cause, 
—  namely,  heredity,  —  may  underlie  both  the  physical  and  the 
mental  defect,  but  this  argument  will  not  apply  to  the  last 
set  of  facts  referred  to.  It  seems  fair  at  present  to  conclude 
that  physical  superiority  usually  accompanies  mental  capacity. 
Therefore  if  the  school  would  do  its  duty  by  the  child  intellec- 
tually it  must  not  only  prevent  the  spread  of  infectious  diseases, 
but  also  must  take  measures  in  the  line  of  both  preventive 
hygiene  and  positive  treatment. 

Happiness  depends  on  it. —Second:— one  of  the  definite 
aims  of  education  to-day  is  health,  not  merely  because  health 
gives  greater  possibilities  for  intellectual  development  but  be- 
cause it  makes  for  happiness.  Emotions,  temperament,  morals, 
are  all  bound  up  very  closely  with  health.  Every  child  has 
a  right  to  happiness,  therefore  give  him  health.  Also  every 
child  has  the  right  to  be  well-born.  Much  of  the  disease, 
deformity,  and  weakness  in  the  world  is  a  matter  of  inherited 
tendencies.  In  order  that  the  next  generation  may  be 
physically  better  than  the  present  one,  the  children  of  to-day 
must  be  guarded,  guided,  and  treated  along  all  possible  health 
lines. 

Economic  conditions  make  it  imperative.— Third: — the 
pubUc  schools  are  provided  at  state  expense  in  order  that  the 
children  of  the  state  may  be  self-supporting  citizens,  contribut- 
ing in  their  adulthood  to  its  development  and  prosperity.  A 
school  that  because  of  a  one-sided  point  of  view,  or  because 
of  an  unfair  division  of  time,  or  because  of  lack  of  apprecia- 
tion of  its  responsibiHties,  fails  to  achieve  this  end,  pitiably 


4 

Physical  Development  of  the  Child  261 

fails  in  its  function.  Of  the  thousands  of  incompetents  who 
fall  back  on  the  state  for  support  each  year,  the  thousands 
always  a  drag  and  a  menace,  those  found  in  the  insane  asy- 
lums, the  jails,  on  the  streets,  how  many  of  these  are  physi- 
cally unfit,  and  have  been  so  since  childhood  ?  Might  not  the 
teachers  of  these  children  have  done  more  for  them  and  for 
the  community  by  discovering  the  physical  trouble  and 
maybe  setting  that  right,  than  by  any  teaching  which  merely 
drills  and  informs  the  mind  ? 

The  organization  and  demands  of  the  school  make  it  re- 
sponsible.—  Fourth: — ^a  teacher  must  take  cognizance  of 
the  physical  side  of  child  nature  because  in  the  school  she  is 
requiring  certain  tasks,  forming  certain  habits,  allowing 
certain  opportunities,  imposing  certain  deprivations,  each  of 
which  procedures  has  its  own  dangers  so  far  as  the  physical 
well-being  of  the  child  is  concerned.  The  teacher  must  take 
measures  to  minimize  the  dangers,  and  if  definite  harm  should 
result  see  to  it  that  needed  remedies  are  applied.  Schools 
require  that  children  learn  to  read :  have  they  any  right  to 
ignore  the  resulting  eyestrain  no  matter  what  the  cause? 
Examinations  are  necessary  in  most  schools,  but  teachers 
should  know  the  attendant  ills.  Children  must  learn  to 
write,  but  habits  of  posture  which  result  in  curvature  of  the 
spine  are  not  necessary  as  a  concomitant.  Is  it  wise  to  re- 
quire much  home  study  of  certain  classes  or  children  if  it  is 
done  under  conditions  which  are  definitely  injurious  to  health  ? 
The  very  tasks  which  it  imposes,  because  they  react  upon 
or  involve  the  physical  child,  force  responsibility  upon  the 
school  and  its  teachers  for  the  health  and  growth  of  the 
children.  Regard  for  health  is  not  a  matter  of  choice  or  of 
philanthropy,  it  is  a  logical  outgrowth  of  the  schooFs  own 
requirements  in  other  lines.  All  those  who  deal  with  chil- 
dren, teachers  especially,  must  realize  the  importance  of  this 
problem  of  the  physical  development.  So  long  as  they  are 
not  alive  to  its  significance,  so  long  as  they  do  not  know  the 


262  Psychology  of  Childhood 

facts  of  child  development,  so  long  as  they  are  ignorant  of  the 
danger  points  of  the  causes  of  increased  susceptibility,— 
just  so  long  will  the  children,  both  of  this  generation  and  the 
next,  suffer. 
PHYSICAL  DIFFERENCES  BETWEEN  CHILDREN 
•/  AND  ADULTS.  —  As  children  diifer  from  adults  in  all  the 
^  What  are  intellectual  and  feeling  processes,  even  so  they 
7merencel  ^^^^  "^  things  physical.  It  is  just  as  true  that 
between  "  the  child  is  not  the  man  writ  small  "  in  health 
amfaduits  ^^^  physical  development  as  in  intellectual  fields. 
physically  r  Just  as  general  adult  psychology  will  not  answer 
the  problems  concerning  the  mental  and  moral  processes  of 
children,  so  the  hygiene  of  the  adult  will  not  meet  the  needs 
of  the  child.  Just  as  we  need  a  child  psychology,  just  so 
do  we  need  a  child  hygiene.  The  differences  between  the 
child  and  the  adult  on  the  physical  side  are  tremendous. 
Some  one  has  said  that  the  child  is  about  as  much  like"  the 
adult  as  the  caterpillar  is  Uke  the  butterfly.  How  great  that 
difference  really  is  the  student  can  fully  realize  best  through 
intensive  study  of  individual  children.  Terman  says,  ''  The 
child  is  different  from  the  adult  in  every  fiber,  every  blood 
corpuscle,  every  bone  cell,  and  in  the  relative  proportions  of 
all  his  parts.  His  resistance  to  disease,  his  powers  of  re- 
cuperation, his  food  and  sleep  requirements  are  all  unlike 
those  of  the  adult.  He  is  differently  affected  by  every  ele- 
ment of  environment  and  regimen."  ^  **  The  relative  size 
and  the  balance  of  organs  is  not  at  all  the  same  in  the  young 
child  as  in  the  adult.  Roughly  and  approximately,  between 
birth  and  maturity  the  muscles  increase  in  weight  about 
thirty-sevenfold;  the  lungs  about  eighteenf old ;  Hver,  heart 
and  kidneys  about  twelve  or  thirteenfold.  The  young  child 
requires  far  more  food  and  oxygen,  and  produces  far  more 
carbon  dioxide,  energy  and  waste  for  each  pound  of  weight 
than  the  adult.  ...  If  adults  and  children  of  different  ages 
»  Terman,  The  Hygiene  of  the  School  Child,  pp.  47-48. 


Physical  Development  of  the  Child  263 

have  different  rates  of  mortality  and  morbidity,  a  different 
balance  of  organs,  different  relative  incomes  and  modes  of 
expenditure,  in  one  word,  a  quite  different  metabolism  and 
habits,  it  is  surely  not  too  much  to  say  that  they  have  dif- 
ferent constitutions  and  are  leading  different  Hves.  They 
must  be  treated  and  trained  quite  differently.  Inferences 
drawn  from  the  life,  habits  and  needs  of  one  age  may  not 
apply  at  all  at  another.  What  is  beneficial  to  the  adult  may 
harm  the  child;  and  the  reverse  is  equally  true."  ^  Not 
only  is  the  child  totally  unlike  the  adult  physically,  but  a 
child  of  one  age  will  differ  to  a  great  degree  from  one  of 
another  age.  What  may  be  healthful  exercise  at  one  time 
may  be  a  serious  strain  at  another.  Work  that  is  pleasurable 
to  a  little  child  may  be  the  greatest  bore  to  an  older  one. 
Diet  that  is  eminently  suitable  for  a  four-year-old  is  quite 
insufficient  for  a  ten-year-old. 

FACTS  OF  PHYSICAL  DEVELOPMENT.  —  What,  then, 
are  the  important  facts  concerning  the  physical  develop- 
ment of  children  ?  First,  as  to  the  factors  operative  in  pro- 
ducing physical  nature. 

Factors  determining;  heredity  and  environment. — There 
is  great  difficulty  in  assigning  to  each  its  share  of  responsi- 
bility because  of  the  complexity  of  the  problem.  The  in- 
ternal factors,  such  as  sex,  family,  and  racial  heredity,  and  the 
external  factors,  such  as  food,  freedom  from  disease,  exercise, 
sleep,  ventilation,  relaxation,  climate,  season  of  the  year, 
etc.,  are  all  operative  all  the  time  and  are  inextricably  mingled, 
The  general  opinion  of  both  medical  men  and  anthropologists 
seems  at  present  to  be  that  heredity  is  the  more  influential 
factor  in  determining  stature,  time  of  puberty,  general  devel- 
opment in  height,  weight,  and  other  dimensions,  and  resist- 
ance to  disease. 

On  the  other  hand  this  does  not  at  all  mean  that  environ- 
ment has  no  effect.  If  certain  elements  in  the  environment 
*  Tyler,  Growth  and  Education,  pp.  io6  and  107. 


264  Psychology  of  Childhood 

make  the  exposure  of  children  to  contagion  much  more  com- 
mon than  under  other  conditions,  there  can  be  no  doubt  JJiat 
environment  is  detrimental  to  normal  physical  development. 
However,  we  have  but  little  scientific  work  upon  which  to 
base  conclusions  concerning  the  effect  on  an  individual  of  in- 
sufficient food,  light,  air,  exercise,  play,  etc.  Probably  the 
most  dangerous  of  the  environmental  elements  is  improper 
feeding.  Most  of  the  work  which  has  been  done  along  even 
this  line  has  not  eliminated  the  factor  of  family  heredity  from 
the  problem,  nor  have  the  many  concomitant  environmental 
influences  been  given  recognition.  For  instance,  children  of 
the  wealthy  and  the  poor  have  been  compared;  factory 
children  and  others ;  those  of  the  "  more  favored  class  and 
the  artisan  class;  children  of  the  professional  class  and  the 
slums ;  "  city  and  country  children.  Obviously  this  does 
not  isolate  the  factor  of  nutrition.  Either  in  the  city  or  the 
coimtry  a  child  may  be  crowded  with  many  others  during 
sleeping  hours  in  an  ill-ventilated  room,  may  be  poorly  housed, 
overworked  or  semi-idle,  with  a  personal  history  of  many 
or  few  diseases.  The  wealthy  mother  may  feed  and  exercise 
her  child  just  as  improperly  as  the  poor  mother.  At  present, 
therefore,  we  have  not  reached  the  point  of  analysis  of  en- 
vironmental factors  so  as  to  be  able  to  make  absolutely  definite 
statements  regarding  any  one  of  them;  and  as  man  is  at 
least  partly  responsible  for  his  environment,  both  heredity 
and  environment  are  working  in  the  same  direction,  and  which 
is  the  controlling  cause  we  have  no  means  of  telling.  Investi- 
gations which  note  the  effect  on  the  same  classes  of  children 
of  different  kinds  of  diet,  school  lunches,  recess  luncheons, 
etc.,  should  throw  more  hght  on  this  problem.  Two  factors 
in  connection  with  feeding  seem  fairly  certain  f  first,  that 
underfeeding,  to  have  any  permanent  stunting  effect,  must 
be  of  long  duration ;  second,  that  the  feeding  of  the  infant 
up  to  a  year  or  a  year  and  a  half  old  is  of  the  utmost 
importance. 


I 


Physical  Development  of  the  Child  265 

Growth  in  height  and  weight. — As  has  been  indicated, 
racial  and  family  heredity  determine  for  the  individual  his 
ultimate  height  and  weight,  while  the  sex  largely  determines 
the  rate  of  growth ;  so  that  statistics  derived  from  a  study  of 
French  boys  would  not  be  applicable,  say,  to  Japanese  girls. 
The  figures  here  quoted  are  drawn  from  studies  of  American 
and  English  children.  Taking  the  average  length  of  a  child 
at  birth  as  19  inches,  and  average  adult  height  as  67  inches 
(M.)  and  63  inches  (F.)  respectively,  it  will  be  seen  that  a 
total  gain  of  48  or  44  inches  is  made.  Of  this,  the  most  rapid 
gain  is  in  the  first  months  of  life,  since  at  fourteen  months 
old  roughly  one  quarter  the  total  increase,  i.e.  12  inches  (M.), 
II  inches  (F.)  will  have  been  made.  A  male  has  gained  his 
second  12  inches  of  growth,  making  him  43  inches  tall,  by 
the  time  he  is  sUghtly  under  six  years  old,  taking  therefore 
56  months  to  gain  as  many  inches  as  he  did  at  first  in  14 
months.  His  third  quartile,  making  him  55  inches  tall,  is 
added  by  about  twelve  and  a  half  years  of  age,  thus  taking 
perhaps  74  months.  He  may  reach  his  ultimate  height  any- 
where from  eighteen  to  twenty-three  years  of  age.  Very 
similar  facts  may  be  stated  for  the  female,  except  that  her 
third  quartile's  gain  has  been  made  by  ten  and  a  half.  In 
weight,  the  total  gain  to  the  age  twenty-two  is  approximately 
138  and  117  lbs.  respectively,  of  which  the  first  quartile  is 
gained  before  five  years  old  for  either  sex,  the  second  by 
eleven  and  a  half  (M.)  and  ten  and  a  half  (F.),  the  third  by 
fifteen  and  a  half  (M.)  and  thirteen  and  a  quarter  (F.). 
Other  rough  statements  that  may  be  made  are  that  a  child 
is  half  his  ultimate  height  at  two  and  a  half  years  old  or 
slightly  less.  Between  the  ages  of  five  and  ten  a  child  grows 
about  two  inches  a  year,  adding  2  to  2^  lbs.  for  every  inch 
gained. 

The  rate  of  increase  then,  in  both  height  and  weight,  gradu- 
ally diminishes  from  birth,  though  by  no  means  evenly. 
There  is  a  slight  retardation  in  growth  at  about  six  years 


266  Psychology  of  Childhood 

old,  an  acceleration  at  eight  (M.)  or  seven  (F.),  reaching  a 
iiinimum  rate  at  eleven  (M.)  and  nine  (F.).  Following  this 
period  of  slow  growth  is  one  of  rapid  growth  reaching  its 
maximum  at  fifteen  (M.)  and  twelve  and  a  half  to  thirteen 
(F.).  The  increase  in  height  up  to  the  time  of  maximum 
growth  is  principally  due  to  growth  in  length  of  legs ;  after 
that  time  the  trunk  grows  rapidly.  Rapid  increase  in  height 
is  followed  by  gain  in  weight.  Development,  i.e.  qualitative 
rather  than  quantitative  change  in  the  cells,  should  always 
follow  growth.  Times  of  rapid  growth  are  times  of  increase 
in  vigor  and  energy,  hence  these  periods  are  of  great  educa- 
tional value.  Though  periods  likewise  of  high  fatigability 
they  are  dangerous  only  in  the  way  that  a  rapidly  moving 
machine  is  in  more  danger  than  a  slow  moving  one. 

We  know  too  that,  contrary  to  popular  opinion,  in  cases 
of  delayed  puberty,  the  individual  is  not  so  tall  eventually 
as  those  who  begin  to  mature  earlier ;  though  the  adolescent 
acceleration  is  more  marked,  it  is  briefer  in  duration.  Other 
than  the  sex  glands  influence  growth,  particularly  the  thyroid. 
Any  defect  or  disease  in  the  thyroid,  or  its  absence,  is  ac- 
companied by  a  lack  of  growth  and  by  a  special  kind  of 
mental  defect,  both  of  which  can,  however,  be  remedied  if 
treatment  is  begun  sufl&ciently  early  by  supplying  the  con- 
stituents in  the  diet  that  the  gland  should  normally  have 
secreted. 

Climate  and  season  affect  growth  also,  climate  in  that 
taller  races  are  found  in  the  temperate  zones,  and  season  in 
that  boys  have  been  found  to  increase  in  height  more  in  the 
spring  and  summer  than  in  the  fall,  and  to  put  on  weight 
relatively  more  from  August  to  December.  We  need  further 
investigations  dealing  with  races  emigrating  from  one  zone  to 
another,  also  on  the  annual  variation,  and  on  weekly  and 
monthly  fluctuations  said  to  exist.  Statistics  from  South 
Africa  and  Australia,  as  well  as  of  different  nationalities, 
would  be  valuable. 


Physical  Development  of  the  Child  267 

Growth  and  development  of  various  parts.  —  The  growth 
of  the  body  does  not  proceed  as  a  whole,  but  by  parts  and 
successively.  The  various  organs  seem  to  follow  a  rate  and 
rhythm  of  their  own,  and  to  develop  quite  independently  of 
other  organs.  Thus  the  time  of  maximum  growth  of  one 
part  may  be  the  time  of  minimum  growth  of  another.  For 
example,  the  brain  increases  in  size  two  or  threefold  during 
the  first  year,  but  only  10  per  cent  more  during  the  second  year. 
There  is  a  continued  slow  growth  till  puberty  though  by  the 
sixth  year  it  has  almost  reached  adult  size.  By  the  twelfth 
or  fourteenth  year  its  growth  has  practically  ceased,  except 
for  very  slight  increase  even  into  the  third  decade.  The 
muscles  and  intestines  are  largest  in  the  fifth,  the  heart  and 
lungs  in  the  eighth  decade.  At  birth  the  size  of  a  cross 
section  of  the  heart  compared  to  a  cross  section  of  the  large 
arteries  is  as  25  to  20;  at  puberty  it  is  as  140  to  50;  for  the 
adult  it  is  as  290  to  61.  At  fifteen  years  old  a  boy's  Kmbs 
are  relatively  longer  than  they  are  either  at  eleven  years  old 
or  in  adult  life.  Detailed  facts  are  too  numerous  to  be  given 
here ;  but  that  does  not  lessen  the  danger  of  lack  of  acquaint- 
ance with  them  on  the  part  of  parent  or  teacher.  For  in- 
stance, they  should  know  of  the  risk  of  too  vigorous  exercise 

-o£ -ail  eight-  or  nine-year-old  child  while  his  heart  is  still  small 
in  proportion  to  his  arteries;  and  that  a  child  of  six  needs 

.  twice  as  much  oxygen  for  his  weight  as  does  the  adult.  They 
should  realize  that  the  greater  plasticity  of  the  child's  bones 
makes  deformity  from  bad  posture  a  very  real  danger.  They 
should  remember  that  boys  are  at  every  age  superior  to  girls 
in  lung  capacity  and  in  strength  of  hands.  They  should  know 
that  children  of  three  require  40  per  cent  as  much  food  as  adults 
although  they  are  only  about  one  fifth  as  large.  The  danger 
is  of  underfeeding  or  improper  feeding,  not  of  overfeeding. 
The  answers  to  many  school  problems  and  the  principles  of 
much  of  school  discipline  must  be  found  through  a  careful 
study  of  the  physical  growth  and  development  of  the  child. 


268  Psychology  of  Childhood 

Physiological  and  chronological  age.  —  The  differences 
in  the  rate  of  growth  in  every  organ  of  the  body,  the  skeleton, 

and  nervous  system  are  important ;  but  even  more 
^^^^!]^  important  for  the  individual  child  is  the  fact  that 
"physio-  there  are  large  variations  from  any  ''  average  " 
^^,ff  rate  of  development  within  any  one  year.     The 

number  of  years  a  child  has  Hved  is  no  sure  sign 
of  his  physical  development.  In  a  group  of  boys  fourteen 
years  old  some  may  be  still  in  the  prepubescent  period,  some 
may  be  at  that  time  in  the  stage  of  transition,  and  some  may 
be  post-pubescent.  Cramp  ton  ^  in  his  work  with  the  boys  of 
New  York  City  found  that  by  the  time  they  reached  high  school 
age,  about  thirteen  and  one  half,  the  number  of  pubescents,  pre- 
and  post-pubescents  was  ahnost  equal.  Although  these  indi- 
vidual differences  in  lack  of  correspondence  between  chronolog- 
ical age  and  maturity  are  greatest  at  the  pubescent  period, 
they  still  occur,  and  are  important,  earlier.  It  may  be  that 
girls  are  a  year  ahead  of  boys  in  physiological  age  by  the  time 
they  reach  school  age,  so  that,  for  instance,  a  girl  of  five  may 
be  ready  for  school  but  her  brother  to  be  equally  ready  would 
have  to  wait  until  he  was  six.  The  question  of  the  educa- 
tional significance  of  this  fact  of  lack  of  correspondence  is 
by  no  means  answered.  In  fact  two  difficulties  must  first 
be  met,  i.e.  the  relation  between  maturity  and  mental  capacity 
must  be  definitely  determined,  and  an  agreement  as  to  the 
best  measure  of  maturity  must  be  decided  upon.  The  evi- 
dence we  have  on  the  correlation  between  maturity  and  mental 
capacity  is  in  favor  of  a  positive  correlation,  but  the  results 
are  not  final. 

Even  if  no  such  positive  correlation  is  ever  proved,  the 
emphasis  on  the  distinction  between  chronological  age  and 
physiological  age  is  an  important  one.  The  fact  is  that  chil- 
dren who  have  lived  the  same  number  of  years  are  not  the 

»  Crampton,  Influence  of  Physiological  Age  upon  Scholarship.  Psych. 
Clin.  I. 


Physical  Development  of  the  Child  269 

^ame  physically.  They  cannot  be  the  same  mentally,  though 
the  difference  here  may  be  less.  We  cannot  treat  all  nine- 
year-olds  alike  —  putting  them  all  in  the  same  school  grade, 
expecting  them  all  to  be  the  same  height,  demanding  the 
same  quantity  and  quality  of  mental  work,  assigning  tasks 
requiring  the  same  fine  muscle  coordination  —  just  because 
all  have  passed  their  ninth  birthday.  Also  it  is  true  that 
physical  maturity  brings  with  it  certain  ideas,  ideals,  atti- 
tudes despite  the  lack  of  school  training.  Simply  because  a 
child  has  lived  14  years  is  not  enough  to  insure  either  the 
physical  strength  and  maturity  or  the  intellectual  develop- 
merit  that  factory,  mill,  or  any  other  form  of  work  demands. 
The  12-year-old,  non-EngHsh-speaking  child  cannot  well  be 
taught  with  ordinary  second-grade  children.  The  18-year- 
old  moron  with  lo-year-old  mentality  is  by  no  means  ten 
years  old  in  other  ways.  .The  question  of  co-education, 
junior  high  school,  methods  of  instruction,  especially  in  re- 
ligion and  morals,  must  take  account  of  these  facts.  The 
religious  school  that  classes  all  14-  to  15-year-olds,  boys  and 
girls  alike,  together  to  take  its  graded  course  marked  for 
that  age  is  probably  making  a  mistake  far-reaching  in  its 
effects,  and  much  worse  than  a  similar  classification  of  all 
7 -year-olds  would  be.  The  treatment  of  the  juvenile  criminal, 
both  before  and  after  conviction  of  crime,  would  be  materially 
altered  if  these  distinctions  were  kept  in  mind. 

All  the  way  through  this  discussion  the  lack  of  knowledge 
and  of  scientific  facts  of  child  hygiene  and  physiology  has 
been  evident.  Some  characteristics  of  various  ages  are  recog- 
nized; for  instance,  that  the  sensory  development  of  a  child 
precedes  the  motor,  and  that  the  intellectual  development 
follows  both ;  that  the  lung  development  of  the  pre-adolescent 
girl  is  far  inferior  to  that  of  the  boy;  that  the  development 
of  the  organs  of  reproduction  with  their  correlated  changes 
is  the  most  significant  fact  of  pubescence.  But  very  much 
of  such  knowledge  is  only  the  result  of  observation,  and  is 


2'jo  Psychology  of  Childhood 

not  scientific.  For  example,  because  of  the  changes  taking 
place  at  adolescence  the  health  of  the  girl  has  been  shielded 
and  guarded.  But  that  is  too  late ;  the  sex  instinct,  with  its 
accompanying  bodily  changes,  does  not  develop  rapidly  in 
a  few  months;  it  has  the  same  characteristics  as  all  other 
original  tendencies,  —  namely,  a  slow,  gradual  ripening. 
Moll  claims  that  the  beginnings  of  such  development  may  be 
found  among  six-year-old  children,  and  certainly  a  very  large 
percentage  of  girls  have  matured  by  the  time  they  are  twelve 
and  one-half  years  old.  The  time  to  guard  the  health  of  the 
girl,  the  time  to  build  up  vitality  and  resistance  power  is  from 
nine  years  old  on.  To  begin  at  twelve  is  to  begin  when  the 
opportunity  is  passed.  This  then  is  a  problem  for  grammar 
school  quite  as  much  as  for  high  school  teachers.  The  same 
argument  appHes  to  boys,  only  they  are  a  year  or  two  behind 
the  girls  in  age  of  development. 

What  both  teachers  and  parents  need  are  first  reliable 
standards  for  measuring  development  stages  in  child  growth, 
and  then  measures  of  the  correlation  between  these  stages  and 
various  types  of  capacities. 

SOME  CONSTRUCTIVE  MEASURES  FOR  THE  BVl- 
PROVEMENT  OF  HEALTH  CONDITIONS.  —  Although 
teachers  and  parents  are  rather  working  in  the  dark  so  far 
as  some  phases  of  the  physical  life  of  the  child  are  concerned, 
still  work  of  considerable  importance  has  been  done  towards 
the  prevention  of  certain  defects  and  diseases  among  children 
and  the  remedying  of  certain  others. 

Inspection,  hygiene,  special  studies.  —  The  establishment 
of  the  school  nurse  and  of  the  medical  inspection  of  school 
children  has  done  much  to  prevent  the  spread  of  contagious 
diseases  and  to  promote  the  early  detection  of  some  of  the 
grosser  defects.  The  hygiene  of  special  subjects,  such  as 
reading  and  writing,  and  the  equipment  of  the  schools  with 
books,  blackboards,  seats,  etc.,  in  accordance  with  the  physical 
demands  of  the  child,  have  done  much  to  prevent  eyestrain 


Physical  Development  of  the  Child  271 

with  its  train  of  evils,  curvature  of  the  spine,  etc.  The  studies 
in  fatigue  with  their  resulting  influence  on  length  of  class 
periods,  length,  distribution,  and  character  of  recess  periods 
have  worked  for  the  nervous  betterment  of  children.  School 
lunches,  out-of-door  classes,  free  clinics  of  all  kinds  have  both 
improved  the  health  of  the  school  children  and  alleviated 
some  of  the  suffering  due  to  defects.  But  the  health  of  the 
children  will  not  be  properly  conserved  until  each  individual 
teacher  recognizes  her  responsibility  in  this  direction.  In 
some  districts,  such  measures  as  have  been  indicated  are  not 
possible;  then  the  teacher  alone  is  responsible.  In  all  cases 
the  initial  step  must  often  be  taken  by  the  teacher.  This 
problem  is  not  one  which  can  be  adequately  solved  by  provid- 
ing specialists.  They  are  necessary  in  the  long  run,  but  the 
greater  responsibility  for  close  observation  and  detection  of 
trouble,  for  suggestions  of  remedies,  and  for  persistent  endeavor 
to  have  means  taken  to  reheve  must  be  on  the  teacher  in  the 
schools. 

Recognition  of  defects.  —  The  common  defects  of  sight  and 
hearing  have  already  been  discussed  in  Chapter  What  are 
VII.  Other  defects  which  influence  a  child  either  '^onsZ'oi 
physically    or  mentally    or    both    are :    defective  defects? 
teeth,  adenoids  and  enlarged  tonsils,  defects  of  speech  and 
nervousness. 

Teeth.  —  Care  of  the  teeth  has  been  urged  in  times  past 
for  two  reasons :  first,  because  bad  teeth  are  ugly  and  good 
teeth  are  an  element  of  beauty,  and  second,  be-   „,^  ^ 

„     ,  -  ,  -        Wnat  are 

cause  such  care  prevents  suiiermg  caused  by  tooth-  some  results 
ache.  These  two  reasons  are  still  in  force,  but  '^J^°^J^ff^^ 
to-day  much  evidence  is  being  produced  to  show 
that  the  care  of  teeth  is  necessary  not  only  for  bodily  health, 
but  for  mental  health  as  well.  ''  Defective  teeth  may  affect 
the  health  of  the  entire  body.  The  influence  is  chiefly  of 
four  kinds:  (i)  decreased  power  of  mastication,  due  either 
to  decay  or  irregularities  of  the  teeth;  (2)  the  toxic  effect 


272  Psychology  of  Childhood 

of  pus  which  is  absorbed  directly  into  the  blood  or  taken  into 
the  stomach  and  intestines;  (3)  reflex  nervous  disturbance 
due  to  pain,  impaction  of  teeth,  etc. ;  and  (4)  the  possibility 
of  acting  as  a  breeding-ground  and  distributing-point  for 
bacteria  which  cause  infectious  diseases."  ^  Indigestion, 
anemia,  and  even  rheumatism  have  been  traced  directly  to 
defective  teeth.  Medical  men  as  well  as  the  laity  are  only 
now  waking  up  to  the  danger  to  the  nation's  health  involved 
in  this  seemingly  minor  defect.  The  extent  to  which  defective 
teeth  are  found  among  school  children  all  over  the  world  is 
appalling.  In  recent  examinations  made  in  this  country  and 
in  Europe  the  estimates  run  from  61  per  cent  to  96  per  cent 
of  the  children  showing  defective  teeth.  The  younger  chil- 
dren showed  more  defects  than  the  older  ones,  as  the  milk 
teeth  are  more  susceptible  to  attack  than  the  permanent 
teeth.  The  age  most  free  from  troubles  of  this  kind  is  about 
ten  years  for  girls,  for  boys  a  httle  older.  The  teacher  has 
three  duties  with  reference  to  this  defect :  (i)  she  should  teach 
something  of  the  hygiene  of  the  mouth  and  teeth;  (2)  she 
should  cooperate  with  the  home  in  promoting  habits  of 
sanitary  care;  (3)  she  should  find  out  whether  there  are 
defects  if  there  is  no  one  else  to  do  it,  and  then  do  all  in  her 
power  to  get  the  defects  remedied  before  the  child's  health 
suffers. 

Speech.  —  Defects  in  speech  are  much  more  common  among 
school  children  than  one  would  anticipate.  Conradi^  in  his 
investigation  reports  2.46  per  cent  of  children  with  defect  of 
some  kind.  Of  these  lisping,  or  some  form  of  baby  talk,  and 
stuttering  are  the  commonest.  Such  defects  not  only  in- 
fluence a  child's  social  adjustment,  but  influence  also  his 
business  efficiency.  Further,  it  seems  very  probable  from 
the  study  of  mentally  defective  children,  the  majority  of 
whom  suffer  from  speech  defects,  that  there  is  a  positive  cor- 
relation  between  speech  and    thinking.     Clumsy,  sloven]\ , 

»  Tcrman,  op.  cU.,  pp.  173-174.  *  Ped.  Sera.,  1904,  Vol.  11,  p.  365. 


Physical  Development  of  the  Child  273 

or  halting  speech  is  likely  to  be  accompanied  by  poor  thinking. 
Improvement  in  speech  has  been  accompanied  by  improve- 
ment in  intellectual  power.  This  need  not  at  all  mean  that 
the  relationship  is  one  of  cause  and  effect,  but  it  should  mean 
that  both  parents  and  teachers  recognize  that  defective  speech 
is  not  to  be  neglected  or  left  to  look  after  itself.  In  only  a 
few  cases  will  this  laissez-faire  method  succeed.  In  most 
cases  the  defect  grows  worse,  or  at  least  grows  no  better, 
according  to  the  laws  of  habit.  The  time  for  the  greatest 
frequency  of  the  lisping  type  of  defect  is  just  about  school  age, 
whereas  the  stutterers  increase  in  number  as  the  years  of 
school  attendance  increase.  The  causes  of  these  two  defects 
are  numerous,  and  the  treatment  must  vary  as  the  cause. 
Hence  the  first  thing  for  a  teacher  to  do  is  to  ascertain  the 
cause,  malformation  of  organs,  careless  habits,  defective 
hearing  or  motor  control,  nervousness,  or  what  not,  and  then 
plan  treatment  accordingly.  These  defects  are  curable  to  a 
large  extent  (9  out  of  10  stutterers  are  curable,  Terman 
thinks)  and  the  problem  is  an  educational  one  primarily,  not  a 
medical  one. 

Adenoids  and  enlarged  tonsils.  —  Adenoids  ^  and  enlarged 
tonsils  are  defects  of  the  throat.  They  have  somewhat  the 
same  effect  on  the  health  of  children,  although  the  „^^  , 

What  are 

former  is  the  more  serious  mentally  of  the  two.  A  someresuits 
condition  of  hiofh-arched,  narrow  palate,  impacted  °fj^°^\y^ 
teeth,  and  nasal  obstruction  is  frequently  found 
together.  The  signs  of  these  obstructions  should  be  well 
known  to  every  teacher  so  that  the  treatment  could  begin 
while  the  child  is  young.  Adenoids  usually  appear  before 
the  child  is  nine  and  the  commonest  age  seems  to  be  six. 
Removal  of  the  adenoids  and  tonsils  if  they  are  large  enough 
seriously  to  obstruct  the  nasal  passages,  should  occur  prefer- 
ably when  the  child  is  six  or  seven.     The  effect  of  these 

^  Adenoids  consist  of  the  overgrowth  or  infection  of  the  lymphoid  tissue 
forming  the  third  tonsil.    They  occur  above  and  behind  the  soft  palate. 

T 


274  Psychology  of  Childhood 

obstructions  is  to  cause:  (i)  irregular  and  shallow. breathing; 
(2)  mouth  breathing  with  its  attendant  evils;  (3)  lowered 
general  vitality;  (4)  defective  hearing  and  speech;  (5)  a 
greater  frequency  of  certain  diseases  by  providing  fertile 
ground  for  infection.  Besides  all  these  effects  on  the  health 
of  the  child,  there  is  very  great  reason  to  beheve  that  the 
mental  development  of  the  child  is  delayed,  so  that  some- 
times he  may  be  permanently  retarded.  Lack  of  physical 
vitality  means  lack  of  mental  vitaHty.  Deafness,  wander- 
ing, fickle  attention  affect  mental  development.  Just  what 
is  the  relation  between  these  defects  and  mental  capacity  has 
yet  to  be  worked  out ;  but  we  are  pretty  sure  that  the  ade- 
noidal child  does  not  develop  normally,  and  there  have  been 
some  startling  changes  in  mental  power  and  moral  character 
upon  the  removal  of  adenoids.  But  the  teacher's  duty  is 
not  ended  when  the  adenoids  are  out.  There  are  all  the  bad 
habits  of  the  child's  Ufe  to  undo.  Many  parents  and  teachers 
seem  to  think  that  all  will  be  well  when  once  the  operation  is 
over,  —  that  the  child  will  breathe  through  his  nose,  hear  the 
first  time  he  is  spoken  to,  be  interested  in  his  school  work,  — 
whereas  these  particular  habits  of  response  have  to  be  formed 
gradually,  and  the  old  ones  inhibited.  It  must  be  made  a 
definite  educational  problem. 

The  last  of  the  defects  mentioned  above  is  nervousness. 
The  subject  of  a  later  chapter  necessitates  a  dealing  with  this 
topic,  hence  it  is  omitted  here. 

Malnutrition.  —  Perhaps  the  most  fundamental  handicap 
from  which  a  child  can  suffer  is  mahiutrition.  This,  besides 
What  are  ^^^  effects  on  height  and  weight,  is  apt  to  interfere 
the  results  with  development  in  general,  particularly  to  delay 
^o/nuM-  puberty.  By  lowering  the  general  vitaHty  of  the 
body  it  increases  its  susceptibility  to  any  infections, 
lessens  the  chance  of  recovery  once  a  disease  is  contracted, 
and  increases  the  danger  of  a  relapse.  Especially  is  it  hkely 
to  precede  tuberculosis,  and,  in  the  very  young  child,  Xo  pro- 


Physical  Development  of  the  Child  275 

duce  rickets,  a  soft  condition  of  the  bones  shown  in  severe 
cases  by  enlarged  joints,  overgrown  head,  bow  legs,  or  knock 
knees.  As  it  is  two  or  three  times  more  prevalent  among  dull 
and  retarded  children  than  among  average  or  bright  ones, 
we  may  conclude  that  it  has  a  deleterious  effect  on  mental 
development  as  well. 

The  causes  of  malnutrition  are  not  merely  an  insufficient 
amount  of  food,  a  condition  found  among  the  very  poor, 
but  a  lack  of  the  right  sort  of  food,  or  of  certain  constituents 
requisite  in  a  well-balanced  diet.  Food  that  is  badly  pre- 
pared and  eaten  at  irregular  intervals  or  too  hurriedly  will 
not  serve  the  child's  need,  nor  will  an  oversupply  of  certain 
articles  such  as  candy,  stimulants,  and  highly  seasoned  foods. 
Other  physical  conditions,  such  as  imsound  teeth,  a  weak 
digestive  system,  reflex  nervous  disturbances  including  eye- 
strain, disorders  of  the  lymphatic  system,  will  aggravate  the 
evil  of  malnutrition ;  so  will  also  lack  of  sleep,  or  of  exercise 
in  the  open  air,  and  any  overexcitement,  anxiety,  or  worry. 

A  child  who  is  ill  nourished  usually  appears  pale  and  thin, 
though  often  the  face  may  be  plump  but  flabby  with  dark 
circles  under  dull  eyes.  He  may  be  either  listless  or  over- 
excitable,  with  other  signs  of  nervousness,  particularly  twitch- 
ings.  Decayed  teeth,  foul  breath,  and  other  symptoms  of 
indigestion  may  be  evident  at  a  closer  inspection.  A  teacher 
on  observing  a  child  with  manifestations  such  as  these  should 
refer  him  to  a  physician  for  proper  examination. 

Tuberculosis.  —  Mention  has  been  made  of  tuberculosis. 
Childhood,  particularly  the  earliest  years,  is  the  time  when 
nearly  all  people  contract  this  disease.  Many  recover  from 
the  primary  infection  without  any  one's  being  any  the  wiser, 
but  a  large  number  retain  it  to  develop  later  in  some  form  or 
other.  The  lymphatic  glands  or  the  bones  are  the  most 
common  seat  of  secondary  infection,  showing  in  the  familiar 
swollen  neck,  hip  disease,  "  white  swelling  "  of  the  knee,  or 
hunch  back.     Early  diagnosis  and  treatment  is  of  extreme 


2^6  Psychology  of  Childhood 

importance  in  such  cases ;  by  six  years  old  it  may  be  too  latei 
to  effect  a  cure  or  prevent  a  deformity.  The  tertiary  or 
open  form  so  prevalent  in  later  adolescence  should  of  course 
be  forestalled  if  possible  in  suspects.  Proper  hygienic  habits 
and  thorough  instruction  on  the  topic  of  tuberculosis  are  the 
mam  safeguards  here,  with  special  attention  to  vocational 
guidance,  general  nutrition,  and  care  during  periods  of  con- 
valescence from  attacks  of  scarlet  fever,  measles,  whoopina 
cough,  and  the  like.  ! 

Contagious  diseases.  —  Of  these  and  other  infectious  and 
contagious  diseases  little  detail  need  be  given  here.  Any 
book  on  hygiene  can  give  the  symptoms,  the  periods  of  in- 
cubation and  necessary  quarantine,  and  the  teacher  should 
acquaint  herself  with  these.  Her  better  work  for  the  com- 
munity would  be  to  combat  the  prevalent  idea  that  these 
diseases  are  inevitable  and  therefore  the  sooner  over  with  the 
better.  The  resultant  evils  possible  from  scarlet  fever  alone 
are  too  serious  to  permit  the  careless  exposure  of  children  to 
it.  One  great  help  in  preventing  the  spread  of  many  of  these 
i§,  as  we  are  coming  to  realize,  rigid  insistence  in  public  and 
in  private  on  proper  care  of  the  secretions  from  the  mouth  and 
nose.  Carelessness  in  sneezing  and  coughing  will  soon  be 
recognized  as  criminal  negligence ;  a  sex  difference  in  the  need 
for  expectoration  will  no  longer  be  supposed  to  exist,  so  that 
printed  regulations  on  the  subject  may  disappear  as  surely 
as  the  common  drinking  cup.  Teachers  must  remember  that 
this  is  distinctly  a  matter  of  educating  the  public. 

The  question  as  to  how  much  the  school  is  responsible  for 
the  presence  of  defects,  morbidity,  and  mortality  among  school 
Is  the  school  children  is  still  an  open  one.  Particularly  here  in 
a  cause  of  the  United  States  we  have  little  scientific  evidence. 
However,  from  all  the  investigations  in  other 
countries,  Terman  at  least  is  willing  to  say,  "  The  close 
correlation  of  morbidity  with  years  of  school  attendance, 
with  length  of  daily  program  and  with  the  progression   of 


Physical  Development  of  the  Child  277 

the  school  term;  the  deterioration  of  attention  toward  the 
end  of  the  school  year;  the  damaging  effects  of  strenuous 
school  activities  upon  appetite,  digestion,  metabolism,  and 
the  constitution  of  the  blood;  the  ill  effects  of  deprivation 
from  fresh  air  and  from  healthy  physical  exercise;  the  im- 
pairment of  nervous  coordinations  and  the  profound  dis- 
turbances reflexly  produced  by  worry,  —  these  and  other 
injurious  effects  have  been  sufficiently  attested  to  justify 
the  most  vigorous  prosecution  of  reform  in  matters  of  educa- 
tional hygiene."  ^  Whether  we  are  willing  to  go  as  far  as 
that  or  not,  conditions  are  such  the  country  over  that  our 
individual  responsibility  in  matters  of  child  health  is  being 
forced  upon  us  as  never  before. 

Exercises 

I.  On  square-ruled  paper  chart  the  table  given  below  (abbre- 
viated from  Smedley's  norms).  Use  different  colored  inks  on  the 
same  chart  to  represent  the  boys  and  the  girls.  Arrange  your  chart 
thus : 

cm. 

17s 
170 

160 


1 10 

Age 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

18 

^  op.  cit.,  p.  404. 


2^8  Psychology  of  Childhood 

HnoBT  m  Ch. 


Age 

Boys 

Girls 

6 

III 

no 

7 

1x6 

"5 

8 

121 

120 

9 

126 

"S 

lO 

131 

130 

II 

135 

135 

12 

139  + 

141 

13 

146 

148 

14 

152 

154 

IS 

158 

157 

i6 

164 

158 

17 

168 

159 

i8 

171 

159+ 

How  does  your  chart  show  that  girls  in  their  early  teens  are 
taller  than  boys  of  the  same  age? 
How  does  it  show  the  periods  of  acceleration  and  retardation  ? 

2.  Spend  30  to  60  minutes  in  a  classroom,  noting  as  follows : 

(a)  how  many,  and  which  children  have  a  poor  posture  habit ; 

(b)  which  appear  poorly  nourished ; 

(c)  how  many  have  poor  eye  movements,  or  hold  their  work 
nearer  than  10  inches  to  the  eyes ; 

(d)  the  profiles  of  any  who  are  unusual  in  forehead  or  jaw, 
sketching  them  for  reference  and  comparison ; 

(e)  any  cases  of  speech  defects,  any  evidence  of  bad  hygienic 
habits,  any  asymmetry  of  ears  or  eyes. 

3.  Find  out  what  clinics  for  children  exist  within  a  mile  radius 
of  your  school. 

4.  Can  you  suggest  any  physical  facts  that  might  explain  the 
poor  penmanship  often  found  about  eleven  or  twelve  years 
old? 

5.  By  what  signs  would  you  suspect  the  presence  of  adenoids? 
What  would  you,  as  a  teacher,  do  after  thus  suspecting? 

6.  What  is  one  result  to  the  child's  own  feelings  of  the  fact 
that  bones  may  grow  faster  than  the  muscles  and  skin  covering 
them? 


I 


Physical  Development  of  the  Child  279 

7.  What  facts  given  explain  that  the  rate  of  growth  of  height 
taken  sitting  differs  from  the  rate  of  growth  of  height  taken  stand- 
ing? 

8.  How  could  you  cooperate  to  educate  the  parents  in  the 
matter  of  nutrition? 

References  for  Reading 

F.  Boas,  The  Growth  of  Children.    Science,  Vol.  19. 
Hoag,  The  Health  Index  of  Children. 
Oppenheim,  The  Development  of  the  Child. 
Terman,  The  Hygiene  of  the  School  Child. 
Tyler,  Growth  and  Education. 


CHAPTER  XV 

A  CROSS  SECTION  OF  CHILD  LIFE  AT   FIVE,   AND   AT 

ELEVEN 

CHILD  LIFE  AT  FIVE.  —  So  far,  the  different  tendencies 
have  been  considered  group  by  group.  A  study  of  that  kind, 
analytical  as  it  must  be,  does  not  present  us  with  a  view  of 
the  whole  child  as  we  meet  him  in  daily  life,  complex,  change- 
able, developing  as  he  is,  constantly  meeting  and  responding 
to  all  sorts  of  stimuH,  varying  from  mood  to  mood,  from  year 
to  year,  from  home  to  school  environment,  in  sickness  and  in 
health.  But  neither  does  constant  association  with  one  child 
give  us  necessarily  any  idea  of  what  children  of  a  given  age 
may  be  like.  That  one  child  observed  may  be  atypical,  may 
be  very  specially  endowed  by  heredity  or  favored  by  environ- 
ment, and  is  probably  considered  with  prejudiced  eyes  in  all 
but  very  few  cases.  In  what  follows,  an  attempt  is  made  to 
present  a  sort  of  cross  section  of  child  hfe  at  two  points,  for 
the  ages  five  and  eleven.  The  facts  stated  will,  of  course,  be 
generaUzed,  and  may  not  fit  the  mental  image  one  calls  up  of 
some  particular  child  in  many  traits ;  moreover,  it  may  seem 
to  lack  perspective  and  naturalness  in  the  same  way  that  the 
moving  picture's  succession  of  attitudes  appears  jerky  and 
flat  when  compared  with  the  scenes  with  Uving  actors  on  the 
stage.  However,  it  may  serve  as  a  guide  or  map  in  the  ex- 
ploration of  the  land  of  childhood. 

Physically.  —  Children  at  five  years  old  are  anywhere  from 
34  to  46  inches  tall,  on  the  average  slightly  over  40  inches, 
growing  2  to  2.2  inches  during  the  year.  The  weight  will 
be  from  34  lbs.  to  46  lbs.  with  an  average  of  39  plus,  adding  4 

280 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven     281 

lbs.  or  a  little  more  in  the  course  of  the  year.     A  boy  is  very 
slightly  taller  and  heavier  than  a  girl  at  this  age,  and  grows 
a  little  faster  than  the  girl.     The  sitting  height  is  ^  ^.. . 
large,  relative  to  the  standing  height ;  the  legs  are  five,    what 
increasing  in  muscle  power  rather  than  much  in  rel-  '^ph^Jlcai 
ative  length.     The  brain  has  attained  about  eight  character- 
ninths  of  its  adult  weight,  while  its  development  "''^*^ 
is  proceeding  rapidly.     The  sensory  neurones  are  in  advance 
of  the  motor,  of  which  those  neurones  controlling  the  hands 
are  less  mature  than  those  controlling  the  muscles  of  the 
trunk  and  upper  limbs.     Hands  are  used  for  fine  precision 
movements  better  than  are  the  feet,  however. 

At  this  age  children  have  long  had  their  full  set  of  20  milk 
teeth  and  rarely  start  to  lose  even  the  lower  incisors  before 
another  year  has  passed.  The  first  of  the  permanent  set, 
the  ''  sixth-year  molar,"  makes  its  appearance  about  as  its 
name  would  indicate.  Relative  to  their  age,  children  of  five 
need  a  large  amount  of  food  and  at  more  frequent  intervals 
than  does  the  adult.  Their  diet  should  contain  1400  to  1700 
calories  a  day,  roughly  36  calories  per  pound  of  weight,  and 
include  plenty  of  milk,  cooked  rather  than  raw  fruit,  little 
or  no  meat.  They  need  about  one  half  as  much  fat,  and  one 
third  as  much  carbohydrate  food  as  does  an  adult.  They 
require  eleven  hours  or  more  of  sleep  out  of  the  twenty-four, 
and  plenty  of  outdoor  air  and  sunshine.  It  is  a  time  of  less 
susceptibility  to  disease  than  in  the  years  before  three,  but 
still  very  great  compared  to  the  resistance  of  children  ten 
and  twelve  years  old. 

Socially.  —  Kirkpatrick  calls  the  age  from  three  to  six  the 
period  of  individualization,  when  children  intelligently  try 
to  modify  other  people,  their  physical  environ-  ^^atisthe 
ment,  and  their  world  of  fancy  to  suit  themselves,  social  de- 
and,  through  this  self-assertion,  develop  a  person-  ^^^P^^^^^ 
ality  more  independent  of  others  than  heretofore,  also  pos- 
sibly different  from  that  which  they  exhibited  say  at  three 


282  Psychology  of  Childhood 

years  old.  They  learn  pretty  well  what  is  expected  of  them 
in  the  family  life,  and,  with  the  help  of  their  dramatic  imagina- 
tion, begin  to  idealize  conduct  to  some  degree,  using  terms 
such  as  good,  nice,  kind,  brave,  "  what  —  Ukes."  Such 
moral  standards  are  in  process  of  formation  unreflectively, 
being  crystallized  from  either  incidental  pains  and  pleasures  or 
from  those  administered  systematically  by  the  older  members 
of  the  group  to  which  they  belong.  Thus  their  ''  conscience  " 
is  derived  wholly  from  the  authority  of  the  surrounding  adults, 
and  their  moral  habits  are  formed  by  the  law  of  effect.  They 
learn  to  be  whatever  will  secure  them  the  greatest  advantage, 
coy,  whining,  patient  and  good  tempered  or  vociferous  and 
teasing,  shy,  obedient,  polite,  bold  according  to  the  value  in 
personal  returns  which  such  behavior  brings.  Right  is  that 
which  wins  the  approval  of  the  elders,  or  which  provides  the 
satisfaction  of  a  desire. 

Their  memory  and  imagination  are  developed  sufficiently 
so  that  hope  of  reward,  dread  of  ridicule,  or  fear  of  punish- 
ment can  become  a  controlling  factor  in  conduct.  Neither 
memory  nor  imagination  is  a  reliable  guide,  however,  when  it 
comes  to  reporting  occurrences.  Creative  imagination  is  the 
generator  of  many  of  the  so-called  lies  at  this  age,  faulty 
perception  or  memory  is  accountable  for  more;  but  a  little 
training  in  distinguishing  actual  from  wished-for  experiences 
will  be  of  immense  help  in  straightening  out  this  type  of 
falsification.  Conscious  and  purposeful  lying  may  occur 
from  fear  of  some  loss  or  punishment,  or  from  a  state  of  open 
dislike  or  warfare  with  unsympathetic  adults.  A  majority 
of  children  probably  take  to  lying  in  some  form  or  other; 
and  to  prevent  the  venture  from  becoming  a  habit  they 
should  find  convincingly,  in  terms  of  personal  and  social 
results,  not  only  that  deception  does  not  pay,  but  that  truth- 
y  telling  does,  even  if  it  is  owning  up  to  some  piece  of  mischief 
or  disobedience.  .Because  of  the  weak  time  sense  at  this 
age,  both  rewards  and  punishments  need  to  be  immediate  to 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven     283 

be  effective,  and  closely  connected  in  the  children's  own 
minds  with  the  action.  They  must  be  fitted  to  the  children 
primarily,  to  the  deeds  in  logical  fashion  only  as  a  secondary 
consideration. 

Standards  to  he  given.  —  Moral  and  social  habits  reasonably 
to  be  expected  at  this  age  include  regularity  and  control  of 
bodily  functions,  cooperation  in  cleanliness  of  what  moral 
person,  the  use  of  ''  please,"  and  "  thank  you  "  and  stage  may 
other  simple  courtesy  forms,  handling  of  spoon  and  ^^  ''^^ched? 
fork  simultaneously,  use  of  handkerchief,  some  inhibition  of 
impulses  to  cry  when  disappointed  or  hurt,  of  impulses  to 
kick  and  shriek  when  angry,  of  impulses  to  handle  any  at- 
tractive object  known  to  be  either  another's  property  or 
dangerous,  some  sustained  effort  to  stop  sulks,  or  crossness, 
or  contrariness,  and  to  be  pleasant,  polite,  courageous.  Stand- 
ards of  bedroom  and  table  manners  differ  so  much  that  it  is 
difficult  to  be  specific.  Compare,  for  instance,  children  in  a 
typical,  two-child,  servantless  home  with  parental  super- 
vision but  many  makeshift  ways ;  those  in  a  crowded  tene- 
ment family  with  no  privacy  and  no  room  to  sit  together  at 
meals;  those  in  an  English-style  nursery  with  its  careful 
training;  those  in  single-child  millionaire  estabHshments, 
overloaded  with  personal  service;  those  in  an  institution 
on  the  congregate  plan  with  the  lack  of  intelligent,  refined 
interest  to  direct  in  these  matters.  However,  children  of 
five  years  should  be  made  conscious  that  there  is  a  standard 
in  these  things,  and  their  training  should  have  produced  an 
approximate  conformity. 

One  of  the  chief  moral  habits  needed  at  this  age  is  obedience, 
brought  about  either  by  personal  influence  on  the  emotions 
or  by  tangible  results  in  pleasure  or  the  reverse,  but  in  any 
case  secured  promptly.  Much  help  can  be  given  here  by 
never  offering  mere  suggestions,  which  may  be  disregarded, 
in  the  form  of  commands, which  must  be  heeded.  This  is  a 
bad,  thoughtless  habit  on  the  part  of  adults,  and  necessarily 


284  Psychology  of  Childhood 

confuses  children  who  thus  have  no  ready  means  of  distin- 
guishing between  occasions  when  a  choice  is  permissible  and 
when  it  is  not.  Their  "  I  don't  want  to  "  being  met  with 
"  Oh,  all  right  then  "  in  one  case,  how  are  they  to  know  that 
such  an  objection  will  be  a  source  of  contention  another  time  ? 
Fits  of  obstinacy  may  be  helped  by  a  little  letting  alone  for 
a  while,  or  by  deliberately  distracting  the  attention,  as  one 
does  for  a  balky  horse,  till  the  inhibitions  are  released.  By 
auto-suggestion,  a  child's  "  I  won't "  becomes  only  too 
literally  "  I  can't,"  with  an  accompanying  state  of  high 
tension ;  relief  by  relaxation  is  needed,  which  may  frequently 
be  secured  by  something  which  induces  a  good  laugh.  Obedi- 
ence may  then  follow  more  easily,  and  the  child  has  an  ex- 
perience in  control  to  look  back  upon,  rather  than  a  scarring 
memory  of  a  conflict  with  the  adult. 

Play  interests.  —  The  games  and  plays  enjoyed  at  this 
age  are  largely  individual  and  solitary.  Children  of  five 
What  do  ^^^  ^^  intent  for  considerable  periods  on  their  own 
five-year-  toys,  Construction  work,  occupation  of  whatever  sort 
^^o*r°  without  desiring  the  cooperation  of  others  in  the 
way  that  older  children  do.  Participation  by 
others  may  frequently  be  resented  and  precipitate  a  fight; 
whereas  seeing  others  busy  with  an  object  excites  curiosity 
and  acts  as  a  suggestion  to  grab  and  handle  likewise.  When 
playing  with  other  children  they  join  in  an  undefined  group, 
i.e.  any  number  can  play,  and  there  is  an  absence  of  competi- 
tion. It  is  play  rather  than  a  game  with  organization  and 
rules.  Ring  games  involving  dramatic  imagination,  with 
rhythmic  movement  leading  to  some  climax,  especially  if 
accompanied  by  singing,  are  popular  at  this  age.  Rhythm 
and  repetition  in  speech  and  song  is  a  prominent  characteristic 
of  the  many  traditional  games  played  about  this  time. 

Another  marked  feature  of  their  play  is  the  constant  activ- 
ity indulged  in  from  sheer  enjoyment  of  it  rather  than  from 
any  idea  of  acquiring  skill  in  a  movement.    Five-year-olds 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven    285 

love  to  jump,  roll,  slide,  dig,  climb,  run,  pound,  throw,  lift 
and  use  their  whole  bodies  in  large  movements ;  but  there  is 
no  desire  to  run  fast,  to  throw  hard,  to  jump  high,  nor  to  excel 
the  next  child  in  these  abiUties.  Playing  in  shallow  water  is 
a  great  delight  whether  in  tubs  on  the  veranda,  or  the  small 
stream,  or  mere  road  puddles.  Objects  that  stimulate  the 
senses  and  can  be  manipulated  are  very  attractive.  Simple 
toys  that  will  stand  hard  wear,  that  are  not  too  liliputian, 
that  offer  opportunity  for  dramatic  use  or  original  construc- 
tion work  are  the  best  to  provide,  especially  easily  handled 
variants  of  blocks  and  bricks.  In  using  these,  girls  tend  to 
care  for  ornamentation  more  than  boys  do,  while  the  latter 
already  tend  to  be  more  interested  in  the  mechanics  side  of 
building.  A  few  simple  tools  may  be  appreciated.  Other 
materials  also  providing  scope  for  the  imagination  but  involv- 
ing smaller  muscles,  are  such  as  paper  to  be  cut  or  torn,  clay, 
colored  crayons,  the  various  things  found  in  Montessori  or 
kindergarten  rooms,  including  the  sand  table.  Playing  in 
the  snow  is  sometimes  a  fearsome  pleasure  and  is  not  so  violent 
as  it  becomes  four  or  five  years  later.  Anything  suggestive 
of  a  cave  is  adopted  rather  than  constructed  at  this  age ;  the 
knee  hole  of  father's  desk,  a  hollow  in  a  bank,  empty  crates, 
overhanging  ledges  of  rock,  area-ways  arched  with  steps 
provide  cubby-holes  all  ready  for  playing  house  without  much 
further  trouble. 

Medium-sized  dolls,  teddy-bears,  other  animals  and  their 
appurtenances  are  enjoyed  by  both  sexes.  The  girls  may  do 
a  greater  variety  of  things  with  them  than  boys,  and  the 
same  thing  for  longer  at  a  time ;  also  they  begin  to  develop 
an  interest  in  the  details  of  doll's  housekeeping  appliances 
which  may  bore  the  boys.  Imitation  and  dramatization 
play  a  large  part  in  the  activities  connected  with  their  toys 
as  also  in  their  other  play.  They  love  to  dress  up  and  assume 
the  characters  they  see  daily,  such  as  policeman,  car  conductor, 
etc.,  or  those  they  hear  about  in  stories,  though  this  less  often. 


286  Psychology  of  Childhood 

In  this  way  their  imagination  is  greatly  developed.  They 
are  interested  in  fairy  tales,  but  especially  in  narratives  of 
the  culminative  type  with  repetitions  such  as  that  of  the  old 
woman  with  the  pig  that  wouldn't  go  over  the  stile. 

Instincts  prominent.  —  The  instincts  prominent  at  five 
yesJre  old  are:  i.  responses  of  sensitivity,  love  of  sensory 
Which  in-  Hfc  for  its  own  sake  but  not  in  the  sense  of  fine 
stinctsare     discrimination   which,    of    course,    only    traininer 

mostpromi'  .  '  ^  o 

nent,andin     Can  give. 

what  form?  2.  Responses  of  gross  bodily  control,  rapidly 
developing  in  the  ceaseless  muscular  plays  of  this  age. 

3.  Responses  of  food-getting  in  such  forms  as  pursuing  small 
escaping  objects,  reaching  and  putting  things  in  the  mouth, 
cramming  the  mouth  very  full  with  pleasant  tasting  food,  some 
developing  form  of  collecting  and  hoarding.  Sweet  things  are 
generally  craved,  but  acid,  pungent  or  salty  flavors  are  seldom 
enjoyed.  The  habitation  instinct  is  shown  in  the  typical  re- 
sponse to  small  enclosures  open  on  at  least  one  of  the  six  sides. 

4.  Fear,  occasioned  by  unfamiliar  animals  or  by  people  felt 
as  menacing,  by  thunderstorms,  by  loud,  sudden  noises,  often 
by  the  dark,  by  the  feeling  of  lack  of  support  in  unusual  physical 
positions  or  in  water  which  is  over  waist  high,  or  in  untried 
movements  that  look  violent,  perhaps  by  grotesque  carvings 
or  even  pictures  of  grim-looking  people.  There  are  consider- 
able individual  differences  here,  perhaps  innate  but  partly  due 
to  the  effects  of  early  training  which  may  have  formed  the 
habit  of  making  different  responses  to  situations  which  might 
cause  fear,  or  may  have  intensified  the  unpleasant  emotions. 

5.  Fighting  of  the  types  "  escape  from  restraint,"  "  irra- 
tional response  to  pain,"  "  overcoming  a  moving  obstacle," 
especially  "  counter  attack  and  struggling  against  thwarting," 
accompanied  by  rage. 

6.  Attention-getting,  In  the  form  of  restless  behavior,  doing 
stunts,  calling  out,  alternating  with  submissive  behavior 
shown  in  shyness  and  self-conscious  action. 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven    287 

7.  Emulation,  though  in  a  mild  form  as  compared  with  the 
ten-year-old,  is  shown  in  such  things  as  the  effort  to  seize  what 
a  playfellow  is  pulling  towards  himself,  struggling  to  retain 
a  toy,  leaving  an  occupation  to  run  after  some  other  child 
with  an  attractive  plaything  and  trying  to  drag  it  away-. 
Jealousy  may  follow  with  sulking ;  or  if  others  get  the  tffeat- 
ment  and  notice  for  which  they  were  aiming  there  is  apt  to 
be  sulks,  howls,  or  grief. 

8.  Imitation  in  its  simple,  reflex  forms,  working  with 
the  general  secondary  tendency  toward  suggestibility,  renders 
five-year-olds  peculiarly  susceptible  to  emotional  influences 
and  to  many  unconscious  tricks  of  facial  expression,  gesture, 
accent,  language  phrase,  and  the  Hke.     . 

9.  Manipulation,  which,  added  to  the  love  of  getting  sensa- 
tions, may  figure  as  curiosity,  or  enjoyment  of  being  a  cause. 

pther  instincts,  such  as  kindliness,  motherly  behavior,  the 
sex  instinct,  certain  forms  of  fighting,  are  not  so  strong  at  this 
age  as  they  are  likely  to  be  later.  In  the  case  of  the  sex  in- 
stinct, this  is  either  in  part  of  the  period  called  by  Moll  the 
neutral,  or  in  the  period  called  the  undifferentiated,  when  on 
the  physical  side  the  organs  are  immature  and  sensations 
unlocalized ;  on  the  psychic  side  the  children's  special  affec- 
tions may  be  centered  on  almost  any  one,  even  an  animal, 
but  chiefly  on  a  parent  or  some  older  person  of  either  sex. 
The  curiosity  exhibited  about  their  own  bodies  or  the  origin 
of  babies  is  not  specifically  connected  with  sex;  it  is  rather 
a  part  of  general  information-getting,  and  should  be  so  met. 

Mental  characteristics.  —  Children  of  five  live  in  a  world 
fascinatingly  "  full  of  a  number  of  things,"  and  they  are 
constantly  exploring  their  environment  not  only  by 
getting  sensations  and  making  movements  but  by  ^gfeZmi 
asking  questions.     Though  the  previous  year  may  mental 
more  truly  be  termed  the  age  of  questions,   the  ^jsZsf^^' 
tendency  has  lost  but  little  of  its  strength,  and,  as 
every  parent  desirous  of  Uving  up  to  his  responsibilities  knows, 


288  Psychology  of  Childhood 

even  the  latest  encyclopedia  and  the  ''  Child's  Book  of  Knowl- 
edge "  combined  sometimes  fail  to  provide  the  necessary,! 
satisfying  answers.  Children's  attention  is  quickly  caughtj 
by  moving  objects  either  seen  or  heard,  but  on  the  whole, 
things  are  noticed  and  considered  important  only  as  they 
contribute  to  present  enjoyment.  Voluntary  attention  is 
not  easy  to  give,  and  any  kind  of  attention  is  quickly  distracted. 
As  has  been  elsewhere  indicated,  imagination  of  both  the 
creative  and  constructive  type  is  very  vivid  at  this  age, 
being  a  strong  factor  in  determining  the  type  of  story  or.  play 
enjoyed.  They  begin  to  imitate  not  only  people  and  things 
present  at  the  time,  but  also  those  absent  and  simply  re- 
membered. Mere  retentiveness  is  good,  relatively,  also  rote 
memory ;  but  the  memory  image  is  weak  and  inaccurate, 
neither  is  there  much  abiUty  to  recall  voluntarily.  Logical 
memory  is  scarcely  developed  at  all.  Color  perception  is 
standardizing,  but  interest  in,  and  memory  for,  color  is  far  less 
than  has  been  commonly  supposed.  Space  concepts  are  fairly 
well  developed  for  empirical  reaction  to  daily  environment, 
but  their  time  concepts  are  weak,  likewise  their  number 
concepts.  This  condition  may  be  appreciated  when  we  reaHze 
how  much  more  frequent  are  perceptual  experiences  that  in- 
volve allowing  for  space  adjustment  than  are  those  requiring 
time  measurement;  and  that  beyond  small  portions  of  time 
which  can  be  felt  as  rhythms,  our  very  terms  are  abstract. 
What  wonder  then  that  "to-morrow,"  *4ast  week,"  "next 
month  "  should  be  difficult  to  grasp,  and  that  even  darkness 
and  light,  which  can  be  seen  to  be  understood,  do  not  always 
satisfactorily  explain  "to-day,"  "this  evening,"  still  less 
morning  and  afternoon.  The  type  of  meal  soon  becomes  a 
fixed  point  of  reference  for  time  of  day  as  do  also  habitual 
activities.  Prepositions  and  adverbs  expressing  space  re- 
lationship are  correctly  used  at  this  age,  but  few  expressing 
time  relationships,  still  fewer  dealing  with  causes,  conditions, 
concessions,  and  the  like.    In  language  development,  children 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven    289 

of  five  may  have  a  vocabulary  of  from  2000  to  as  many  as 
4000  or  more  words,  depending  almost  entirely  on  the  sort  of 
home  environment  there  is,  and  also  upon  definite  training 
including  possible  ability  to  read.  Many  more  words  are 
understood  than  are  commonly  used  in  the  child's  own  speech, 
of  course,  as  with  all  of  us.  Substantives  and  verbs  form 
perhaps  three  quarters  of  the  entire  stock  of  works  used, 
while  some  pronouns  and  any  irregular  inflections  give  con- 
siderable trouble  even  when  the  environment  supplies  the 
correct  forms  constantly. 

Mental  tests.  —  The  Stanford  revision  of  the  Binet-Simon 
tests  gives  us  an  idea  of  the  norm  of  general  intelligence  of 
five-year-old  children.     They  can  generally  state  whatmen- 
their  own  age  correctly.     Their  abihty  to  under-  tai  tests  can 
stand  simple  instructions  and  to  hold  them  in  mind  «^g„fa{ 
sufficiently  to  direct  a  process  of  comparison  is  ageS" 
brought  out  by  the  "  comparison  of  weights  "  test,  in  ^°^^ 
which  two  weights  looking  exactly  alike,  but  one  weighing  3  the 
other  15  grams,  are  presented  for  a  sense  discrimination  test. 
The  same  abilities  contribute  to  success  in  other  tests  also, 
as  for  instance  the  ''three  commissions."     In  this  the  direc^ 
tions  are  to  take  a  key  and  put  it  on  a  chair,  then  to  open 
the  door,  then  to  bring  a  designated  box  to  the  experimenter. 
Most  children  at  this  age,  if  they  fail  in  this  test  at  all,  do  so 
from  omitting  one  of  the  orders.     Comprehension  and  atten- 
tion are  needed  again  in  the  ''game  of  patience"  test,  in  which 
two  triangular  cards  are  required  to  be  placed  together  "  so 
they  will    look  exactly  Hke  "  a  rectangular    card  which  is 
shown.     Control  by  an  idea  is  involved  too,  and  of  course 
judgment  and  comparison  through  the  eyes  of  shape  and 
position.     By  five  years  old  normal  children  show  discrimina- 
tion in  matters  aesthetic  by  being  able  to  pick  out  the  prettier 
of  two  faces  in  three  pairs,  and  show  their  interest  in  the  world 
of  color  by  having  picked  up  the  names  of  the  four  primary 
colors  without  having  had  any  direct  teaching  in»  connection 


290  Psychology  of  Childhood 

with  them.  Boys  are  somewhat  inferior  to  girls  in  this  test. 
Things  around  them  are  thought  of  more  largely  in  terms  of 
use  than  in  terms  of  general  characteristics,  so  that  they  will 
reply  to  such  questions  as  "  What  is  a  table  "  by  saying  ''  To 
eat  on,"  or  **  Where  to  write  "  rather  than  giving  the  fact 
that  it  is  made  of  wood,  or  that  it  has  four  legs  and  a  top, 
or  that  it  is  of  a  certain  color  and  shape.  True,  they  may  be 
led  off  into  irrelevant  remarks  such  as  *'  We  have  a  new  table 
in  our  parlor,"  as  is  readily  explainable  by  the  association 
laws  of  vividness  or  recency.  For  that  matter,  adults' 
imagery  or  mental  judgments  might  well  be  colored  the 
same  way,  but  the  latter  would  inhibit  expression  of  this 
type  of  fact,  while  five-year-olds  do  not.  Girls  may  be  some- 
what, but  very  sUghtly  superior  in  general  intelligence  to  boys. 

CHILD  LIFE  AT  ELEVEN.  Physically.— Turning  now 
to  the  consideration  of  eleven-year-old  children,  we  find  that 
A  child  of  ^t  ^^is  ^Se  t^^y  ^^^  anywhere  from  51  to  58  inches 
eleven.  tall,  sHghtly  over  53  inches  on  the  average,  with 

ihephylkai  ^^Y^  ^  ^^^V  ^^^tle  in  the  lead.  During  the  year 
character-  from  eleven  to  twelve  girls  will  start  on  their  period 
of  rapid  growth,  gaining  nearly  2i  inches  before  their 
twelfth  birthday,  while  for  boys  the  acceleration  has  not  yet 
begun.  In  weight,  children  of  this  age  tip  the  scales  at  from 
60  to  78  lbs.,  girls  on  the  average  at  68  and  boys  at  72.  During 
the  year  boys  will  gain  about  4  lbs.  and  girls  about  6  lbs.,  as 
they  overtake  boys  in  height.  In  lung  capacity  or  strength 
of  grip,  however)  girls  do  not  measure  up  to  boys.  A  tall 
child  will  begin  the  period  of  acceleration  rather  earHer  than 
a  small  child ;  and  it  will  become  noticeable  in  height  sooner 
than  in  weight.  There  is  a  stimulated  increase  in  growth  of 
the  bones,  especially  the  long  ones,  at  this  period,  making  a 
change  in  the  relation  of  sitting  to  standing  height.  The 
hips  and  pelvic  bones  start  to  undergo  changes  in  the  girl 
which  frequently  result  in  a  greatly  modified  carriage  and  gait. 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven     291 

At  this  time  lack  of  symmetry  may  show  in  the  shoulders, 
hips,  sides  of  the  face,  use  of  the  hands,  and  so  on.  For  many 
girls  this  marks  the  beginning  of  an  ''  awkward  "  age,  wlieru 
uneven  growth  not  only  necessitates  new  habits  of  muscle 
coordination  but  has  its  effect  in  a  dawning  self-conscious- 
ness of  a  different  kind  to  that  previously  existing,  an  in- 
creased sensitivity  to  personal  criticism,  and  an  instability 
of  mood  which  are  the  forerunners  of  the  metamorphosis 
that  will  take  place  in  early  adolescence.  In  both  sexes  the 
brain  has  all  but  ceased  to  increase  either  in  size  or  in  weight. 
The  heart  is  still  small  in  relation  to  the  size  of  the  arteries 
compared  to  the  relative  size  obtaining  in  adult  life.  The 
general  resistance  to  disease  is  high. 

By  eleven  years  old  the  incisors,  the  first  molars,  and  the 
front  premolars  of  the  permanent  set  of  teeth  have  appeared, 
and  during  the  year  the  canines  and  back  premolars  may  be 
changed,  though  there  is  considerable  age  variation  here, 
and  again  the.girl  shows  more  precocity  than  the  boy.  Several 
teeth  may  be  already  diseased,  especially  the  sixth-year 
molars ;  ^  only  one  child  in  five  may  have  perfect,  sound 
teeth  at  this  age,  the  others  having  suffered  chiefly  from  lack 
of  inspection  and  proper  care.  Children  ^  now  require  about 
1800  to  2000  calories  in  food  value  daily,  or  from  28  to  32 
per  pound  of  body  weight ;  this  would  be  approximately  six 
tenths  as  much  as  a  man  at  moderate  work.  Their  diet 
should  be  varied  but  plain,  avoiding  rich,  heavy,  highly 
seasoned  dishes,  and  being  bulky  rather  than  concentrated, 
so  as  to  somewhat  satisfy  the  almost  inexhaustible  capacity 
for  eating  commonly  found.  They  need  at  least  gi  hours 
of  sleep  during  the  24,  preferably  more;  though  investiga- 
tions^ show  that  the  hours  actually  spent  in  sleep  average 
less  than  this. 

^  See  Terman,  Hygiene  of  the  School  Child,  pp.  169  ff. 

"  Rose,  Feeding  the  Family. 

»  Bemhard,  Ravenhill,  Terman  and  Hocking.    Terman,  op.  cit.,  pp.  364  ff. 


202  Psychology  of  Childhood 

Socially.  —  Socially,  children  of  eleven  are  moving  in  a 
world  made  up  mostly  of  their  own  kind,  vaguely  peopled 
with  adolescents  and  younger  children,  occasionally 
v^^T^Tciai-  touched  by  the  orbits  of  adults.  True,  grown-ups 
izationpro-  ^re  borne  with  in  such  necessary  spheres  as  indus- 
gresse  ^^^^  ^^^  school  life,  are  tolerated  as  convenient 

providers  of  food,  money  and  other  things ;  but  on  the  whole 
they  are  regarded  as  amazingly  far  from  the  interests,  occu- 
pations, plans  and  motives  of  the  boy  or  girl  of  eleven.  Many 
adult  actions  and  points  of  view  are  incomprehensible,  at 
best  foolish,  at  worst  unjust,  and  generally  most  uncomfort- 
ably non-predictable.  At  no  time  may  there  be  such  complete 
mutual  impatience  or  even  misunderstanding,  such  falling 
foul  of  each  other's  incHnations  and  guiding  principles. 

One  reason  for  this  is  probably  found  in  the  fact  that  though 
in  eleven-year-olds  the  sense  of  ownership  is  well  developed 
so  far  as  their  own  versus  their  friends'  belongings  are  con- 
cerned, the  sense  of  honor  is  not  yet  sufficiently  generalized 
to  make  them  keep  from  meddling  with  the  property  of  older 
members  of  the  family,  adults  in  general  or  the  pubHc  at  large. 
Their  impulsiveness,  imperfect  reasoning  abilities,  wide-awake 
energy,  eagerness  to  be  experimenting,  investigating,  making 
things  happen,  lead  them  into  all  sorts  of  situations  which 
to  the  unsympathetic  adult  smack  of  sheer  perversity  or 
willful  mischief.  Since  they  are  not  yet  advanced  enough  to 
generalize  principles  of  conduct,  orders  or  directions  have  to 
be  specific ;  these  cannot  usually  be  sufficiently  numerous  to 
cover  all  the  possibilities  that  will  suggest  themselves  to  a 
healthy,  active  child.  Hence  the  wail  from  the  injured 
adult,  "  Who  could  suppose  they  would  ever  think  of  that?  " 
and  from  the  chidden  culprits,  "  We  weren't  ever  told  not  to 
do  that";  or  "How  was  I  to  know  they'd  object  to  that? 
Whatever  a  feller  does  seems  wrong." 

Another  reason  is  that  wider  reading  acquaints  children 
with  all  sorts  of  wonder  and  adventure  tales,  delightfully 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven    293 

suggestive  to  the  imagination  and  demanding  to  be  worked  out 
in  play.  The  fields  and  woods  are  full,  not  only  of  birds  and 
animals,  but  of  probable  knights,  Indians,  pirates,  and  other 
vivid  beings  to  whom  adjustment  must  be  made ;  but  adults 
prosaically  refuse  to  recognize  the  existence  of  such,  except 
in  rare  instances.  When  engaged  in  strife  with  burglars, 
savages,  one  must  needs  act  violently  and  express  oneself 
by  whoops;  it  is  inconvenient  that  grown-ups  have  a  dif- 
ferent sense  of  the  fitness  of  time  and  place,  but  so  it  is. 
Likewise,  it  is  stupid,  nay  provoking,  of  older  ones  not  to 
recognize  the  absolute  necessity  for  the  utiHzation  of  all 
sorts  of  objects  to  further  the  realism  of  the  atmosphere 
created ;  it  is  unfortunate  too  that  they  object  to  the  transfor- 
mation of  such  articles,  but  so  they  do.  Inevitably,  when 
behaving  at  such  cross  purposes,  a  certain  reticence  will  be 
induced.  This,  with  the  forced  reticence  concerning  escapades 
that  will  be  interpreted  and  rewarded  in  most  variable  man- 
ner, heightens  the  difficulty  of  making  explanations  in  lan- 
guage and  widens  the  gulf  of  misunderstanding.  The  adult 
who  can  appreciate  the  real  motives  at  work  in  children,  who 
does  enter  into  the  sport,  who  is  serious  and  respectful  at 
the  right  time,  who  is  inventive  enough  to  "  play  up  "  may 
cross  a  bridge  over  the  gulf  into  the  charmed  land  of  boy  and 
girl  trust,  love,  even  adoration. 

A  third  reason  for  the  usual  lack  of  understanding  is  prob- 
ably that  the  common  adult  impulses  expressed  in  love-making, 
in  industrial  and  social  prudence  are  not  yet  vital  to  eleven- 
year-olds.  They  view  these  activities  with  amusement 
verging  on  contempt,  at  best  assuming  an  attitude  of  toler- 
ance towards  behavior  in  grown-ups  which  interferes  with 
their  own  purposes.  Adolescents  are,  to  them,  near-adults 
in  many  ways,  while  younger  children,  unless  they  arouse 
pity  and  fostering  care,  are  so  visibly  inferior  in  prowess 
that  their  company  is  unwelcome  in  the  thrilling  exploits 
which  occupy  the  days  for  eleven-year-olds.     Companion- 


294  Psychology  of  Childhood 

ship  of  their  own  kind  is  what  is  urgently  needed  and  con- 
stantly sought.  Here  there  is  wordless  understanding, 
common  aim,  mutual  interest,  cooperative  league  against 
uncomprehending  elders  and  babies.  Here  there  are  rivals 
of  one's  own  sort  and  size,  worthy  coadjutors ;  here  there  is 
a  true  democracy,  adjustment  to  which  is  the  main  business 
in  life  at  this  time.  Girls  do  not  chum  with  boys  at  this  age, 
except  in  rare  instances,  nor  do  boys  go  in  "  gangs  "  with 
girls,  though  they  may  be  attracted  by  some  special  girl  of 
their  own  age.  In  general,  there  is  a  distinct  drawing  apart 
of  the  sexes,  a  dislike  for  each  other's  ways,  a  lack  of  sympathy 
with  each  other's  interests.  Boys  think  girls  ''  silly,  sneaky," 
and  use  the  word  girl  as  a  term  of  supreme  contempt.  Girls 
find  boys  "  horrid,  noisy,  rough,  messy  "  and  other  similar 
things.  No  clubs  for  boys  and  girls  together  are  Ukely  to 
flourish ;  boys  respond  better  to  the  leadership  of  one  of  their 
own  sex  than  to  that  of  a  young  girl  or  older  woman. 

Moral  development.  —  Kirkpatrick  calls  this  the  close  of 
the  period  of  **  competitive  socialization,"  when  "  the  sharp 
I  corners  of   individuality  are  to  a  considerable  ex- 

'  dete/o/J-^'^'^'  tent  rubbed  off  or  suppressed,  and  the  individual 
mentmay  is  made  to  conform  to  the  rule  of  social  life.  .  .  . 
pected?  ^^^y  through  Companionship  with  those  like  him- 
self can  the  child  learn  the  natural  laws  of  sympa- 
thy, ridicule,  rivalry,  etc."  ^  Through  this  association,  chil- 
dren by  the  age  of  eleven  have  developed  a  sense  of  honor 
and  loyalty  to  the  group  that  condemns  tale-bearing  or  lying 
to  one's  friends,  but  upholds  the  he  to  enemies  or  mere  out- 
siders, especially  on  behalf  of  one's  friends.  They  have 
acquired  also  a  contempt  for  physical  cowardice,  an  admira- 
tion for  fearlessness,  grit,  and  abihty  to  endure  hardship. 
They  will  condemn  any  abuse  of  the  really  little  by  the  big, 
in  spite  of  the  frequent  bullying  of  those  not  so  little,  and  the 
thoughtless  cruelty  towards  insects,  frogs,  and  very  small 
*  Kirkpatrick,  Individual  in  the  Making,  p.  i66. 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven     295 

animals.  Their  sense  of  justice  is  strong,  especially  within 
the  group.  Abstract  considerations  have  little  weight  ex- 
cept as  they  sum  up,  perhaps  in  proverb  form,  some  concrete 
experience ;  but,  since  this  is  also  the  age  for  voracious  read- 
ing, ideals  embodied  in  the  deeds  of  favorite  hero  characters 
in  fiction  or  history  may  play  quite  a  large  part  in  determining 
conduct.  Tales  of  action,  power,  and  courage  appeal  most  to 
a  boy,  while  for  a  girl,  tales  of  devotion,  romanticism,  and 
sacrifice  will  also  have  an  appeal.  The  keen  desire  for  ad- 
venture, together  with  lack  of  personal  ratification  of  civic 
law,  makes  predatory  excursions  of  very  common  occurrence 
among  boys.  Activities  that  may  go  unnoticed  in  the  country 
are  apt  to  cause  friction  in  the  more  densely  populated  town 
or  city,  so  that  instead  of  an  indignant  farmer  appearing  to 
give  chase,  a  policeman  may  arrive  to  arrest  for  petty  larceny. 
In  Manhattan,  during  191 2,  1913,  from  eight  to  ten  per  cent 
of  all  juvenile  delinquents  were  eleven  years  old.  Never- 
theless, this  age  is  remarkably  "  good "  compared  with 
fourteen  to  fifteen,  whether  one  takes  the  witness  of  the 
police  courts  or  the  gradings  of  conduct  by  day-school 
teachers.  By  them,  70  per  cent  of  the  eleven-year-olds  were 
rated  as  good,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  sixth  grade  is 
proverbially  difficult  to  handle  from  the  standpoint  of  dis- 
cipline. 

Moral  standards.  —  Moral  conduct  that  may  reasonably 
be  expected  if  there  has  been  suitable  training  is  :  self-control 
in  the  way  of  willingness  to  take  the  lesser  good  first  that 
future  greater  good  may  come,  in  choosing  work  before  play, 
in  giving  up  desired  objects  for  the  sake  of  much  smaller  or 
weaker  ones,  in  prompt  obedience  to  orders  issued  in  a  drill, 
in  persevering  in  effort  at  a  task  in  spite  of  some  consequent 
discomfort,  in  inhibiting  displays  of  violent  temper,  in  in- 
hibiting —  at  stated  times  and  places  such  as  social  gatherings 
for  worship  or  other  ceremonial  —  impulses  to  personal 
satisfaction  at  the  expense  of  the  group.    The  sense  of  honor 


2o6  Psychology  of  Childhood 

should  by  now  include  keeping  promises,  finishing  tasks  as- 
signed, acknowledging  responsibility  for  deeds,  protecting 
the  weak,  old,  sick,  or  very  young,  treating  members  of  the 
opposite  sex  in  some  differentiated  ways,  punctuality,  respect 
for  the  property  of  others  in  the  same  age  group.  Ideals  of 
loyalty  to  one's  friends,  to  one's  family,  and  to  some  larger 
unit,  such  as  the  school,  the  gang,  the  village,  are  usually 
developed,  with  a  more  shadowy,  remote  loyalty  to  the  still 
larger  units.  Obedience  should  be  a  well-formed  habit,  yet 
needs  to  change  somewhat  during  this  year  to  a  more  ra- 
tionalized conformity  with  social  necessities.  A  conscience 
is  being  developed  with  regard  to  duty,  politeness,  kindness. 
Table  manners  will  reflect  the  home  conditions,  as  will  also 
the  personal,  modest  habits.  An  eleven-year-old  may  have 
been  trained  to  a  very  high  degree  in  these  matters;  and 
there  is  no  reason  for  permitting  behavior  far  below  the 
family's  standards.  Although  some  supervision  will  still 
be  necessary,  children  of  this  age  can  be  held  responsible  for 
the  entire  daily  care  of  their  own  persons  and  immediate  be- 
longings, whatever  new  habits  may  have  to  be  acquired  in 
the  next  few  years. 

Superstition  is  somewhat  on  the  wane,  since  there  is  an 
increasing  interest  in  practical  science,  such  as  physics;  yet 
girls  may  retain  much  belief  in  love-lore,  and  boys  in  general 
good  luck.  There  is  a  great  interest  in  stories  of  heroes,  and 
a  lack  of  interest  in  very  brief  stories,  particularly  in  those 
presenting  abstract  ideals  of  duty,  or  some  obvious  moral. 
Biographies  of  adventure,  such  as  David,  are  favorites  in 
Biblical  themes;  but  here  it  is  unsafe  to  generalize,  since 
interests  and  the  range  of  information  differ  so  tremendously 
with  the  kind  of  environment.  If  the  rehgious  teaching  has 
been  of  the  mild  type,  God  is  now  felt  as  a  watchful  Father 
rather  than  as  censorious  parent.  In  quoting  beliefs  about 
heaven,  death,  etc.,  there  is  a  greater  caution  shown  by  pref- 
acing statements  by  such  phrases  as  "  I  have  been  told  that 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven    297 

.  .  ."  "It  is  supposed  that  ..."  Children  of  eleven  to 
twelve  are  usually  heartily  averse  to  having  an  adult  discuss 
with  them  anything  religious  from  a  personal  point  of  view ; 
and  they  are  profoundly  reticent  on  the  subject  with  their 
fellows.  Exhortations  are  tolerated  only  as  they  are  imagined 
to  apply  to  some  one  else.  Some  few  girls  and  still  fewer 
boys  have  a  definite  religious  awakening  at  this  period.  Girls 
more  than  boys  are  susceptible  to  the  influences  of  color, 
beautiful  music,  symboHc  pageantry,  and  the  like,  in  acts  of 
worship,  and  may  even  develop  a  ritual  of  their  own  deeply 
tinged  with  mysticism.  Usually,  however,  this  is  reserved 
for  a  later  age. 

Play  interests.  —  The  kind  of  play  enjoyed  at  eleven  years 
old  is  almost  never  solitary,  but  has  a  strong  social  charac- 
teristic. It  is  usually  in  the  form  of  a  game  rather  ^rf^^f  ,-j  ff^g 
than  free  play,  with  definite  rules,  a  purpose,  a  PjayWe 
begirg^ing,  and  an  end.  In  type  of  organization  it 
is  generally  an  undefined  group  or  double  group,  with  a  very 
slight  beginning  of  cooperative  teamwork  towards  the  end 
of  the  period.  Chiefly,  however,  the  feeling  of  rivalry  domi- 
nates, each  player  desiring  to  "  star  "  in  his  own  part  even  if 
the  contest  is  between  groups.  Sports  and  games  of  skill 
both  single  and  social  are  in  great  favor.  Children  want  to 
see  who  can  pitch  a  ball  hardest,  send  it  highest,  jump  the 
farthest,  skip  longest,  run  fastest,  win  most  marbles,  do  the 
most  fancy  movements  in  roller  skating,  slide  most  swiftly, 
etc.  The  aim  in  the  stunt  is  usually  speed  or  accuracy,  less 
often  ease,  least  often  grace.  Running  is  a  prominent  feature 
of  a  great  many  games,  though  girls  begin  to  slacken  in  this 
respect.  Girls  seem  to  enjoy  rhythmic  movements  more 
than  boys  do,  and  to  be  more  interested  in  folk  dancing, 
prearranged  pageantry,  and  dramatics.  Doll-play  is  rapidly 
disappearing,  and  is  probably  in  the  stage  of  doll-dressmaking, 
or  paper  dolls.  While  girls  will  be  busy  with  constructive 
activities  allied  to  home-making,  and  may  be  interested  in 


2q8  Psychology  of  Childhood 

ornamentation,  finished  detail,  and  the  like,  boys  are  more 
likely  to  use  carpenters'  tools,  do  simple  engineering,  ex- 
periment with  pulleys,  levers,  electricity,  water  power,  and 
especially  to  build  some  kind  of  house  with  whatever  the 
environment  offers  as  suitable  material.  Guessing  games 
and  games  of  chance  are  increasingly  enjoyed,  also  the  more 
passive  forms  of  amusement,  table  games  of  various  sorts, 
and  reading,  for  which  a  veritable  craze  now  sets  in  for  many 
children.  Stories  of  adventure  are  the  chief  joy,  tales  of 
heroes  and  their  exploits,  mystery  tales,  pioneer  narratives, 
^  and  other  thrillers.  Individual  tastes,  of  course,  come  out 
here,  some  children  becoming  veritable  storehouses  of  in- 
formation on  miscellaneous  topics,  others  on  historical  sub- 
jects, others  on  science,  some  on  poetry,  more  on  merely 
impossible  fiction.  The  stimulated  imagination  frequently 
finds  expression  in  long  stories  given  orally  to  the  inner  circle 
of  friends,  or  in  written  form;  besides  detailing  episodes  of 
the  blood-curdUng  variety  the  young  authors,  or  rather 
authoresses,  may  try  their  hands  at  verse-making.  Here,  or 
in  plays  where  a  conclave  is  felt  necessary,  is  the  occasion  for 
developing  a  secret  language,  from  the  employment  of  a 
shibboleth,  password,  incantation  or  what  not,  to  the  pos- 
session of  quite  a  large-sized  vocabulary  useful  as  a  barrier 
between  the  favored  few  and  inquisitive  outsiders.  Games 
involving  an  intellectual  feature  are  played  with  interest  — 
such  things  as  acting  titles,  proverbs,  quotations,  word-build- 
ing from  long  words,  checkers  and  other  board  games,  card 
games  of  authors,  geography,  and  so  forth.     On  the  whole, 

(children  of  eleven  play  a  greater  variety  of  things  than  either 
earlier  when  they  do  not  know  so  many  or  later  when  they 
have  lost  interest  in  a  number. 

Instincts   prominent.  —  The   instincts   prominent   at   this 
time  are : 

I.  Those  resulting  in  gross  bodily  control.     A    good    deal 
of  the  play  time,  as  noted  above,  is  devoted  to  practicing 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven     299 

certain  movements,  acquiring   skill,  perfecting   accomplish- 
ments.    Tree- climbing,  swinging  on  rings,  skating,  bicycle- 
riding,  and  swimming  are  favorite  activities  that  in  what 
may  be  instanced  in  addition  to  the  plays  men-  f<>^"^ore 

.  ^  ^.  these in- 

tioned  earlier.  stincts 

2.  a.  Food-getting,  shown  in  a  strong  tendency  to  ^^o^^^ 
gorge  with  food  at  all  times  and  seasons ;  in  an  interest  in 
roughly  preparing  and  cooking  food ;  in  hunting  and  chasing, 
stronger  in  boys  than  in  girls. 

V-  (Collecting,  which  though  at  its  height  in  the  year  from 
ten  to  eleven,\now  engages  the  interest  of  over  ninety  per 
cent  of  children.  They  will  collect  anything  convenient 
and  attractive,  such  as  marbles,  cigar  tags,  paper  dolls,  nature 
objects,  pictures,  and  vie  with  each  other  as  to  who  will 
have  the  largest  collection.  The  predatory  activities  of  the 
gang  are  also  a  manifestation  of  this  group  of  instincts ;  food 
is  the  principal  th^ng  taken  at  this  age. 

c.  Habitation,  shown  in  the  housekeeping  activities  of 
several  forms  of  girls'  play  and  among  boys  chiefly  in  the 
wigwam,  cave,  board  hut  or  other  gypsy  shelter  which  the 
gang  will  construct. 

d.  Migration.  Though  not  so  strong  at  this  age  as  it  is 
in  the  teens  or  even  at  a  much  earlier  period,  it  appears  in 
the  imaginary  plans  for  going  to  sea  or  becoming  a  bandit, 
in  the  delight  in  stories  of  discovery  in  all  parts  of  the  world, 
less  frequently  in  attempts  to  run  away  from  home,  in  steal- 
ing rides  on  trains  and  boats.  This  may  be  contrasted  with 
the  intense  pangs  of  homesickness  experienced  by  many  chil- 
dren when  away  from  familiar  places  and  people. 

3.  a.  Fear  is  manifested  chiefly  in  a  sublimated  form  such 
as  remnants  of  superstitions,  responses  to  situations  such  as 
ridicule  of  companions,  anticipated  blame.  Girls  are  prob- 
ably more  timid  than  boys  about  such  things  as  going  into 
deep  water,  dealing  with  strange  animals,  getting  on  high 
places,  being  hurt  in  a  fight,  touching  firearms,  and  the  like,  *s 


^oo  Psychology  of  Childhood 

unless  they  have  been  brought  up  with  a  good  deal  of  physical 
freedom  and  encouraged  in  rough  and  tumble  sports. 

h.  Fighting,  especially  of  the  counter-attack,  rivalry-in- 
combat  types,  is  exceedingly  prevalent  among  boys  at  this 
age.  Since  it  seldom  leads  to  permanent  quarrels  or  aUena- 
tion  and  does  help  to  develop  fundamental,  if  crude,  ideas  of 
fair  play,  adults  may  well  refrain  from  interfering  to  sup- 
press it.  Since  when  alUed  with  hunting  it  easily  degenerates 
into  bullying,  a  wise  control  with  substitutions  and  subhma- 
tions  is  desirable.  Girls,  less  than  boys,  tend  to  use  feet  and 
fists  when  this  instinct  is  aroused.  They  respond  more  often 
with  indirect  attack  of  language,  gesture,  facial  expression, 
resorting  to  pushing,  slapping,  or  pinching  when  more  violent 
measures  are  called  for.  The  two  sexes  very  seldom  engage 
each  other  in  actual  physical  fighting  now,  though  there  are 
occasions  permitting  hair-pulling  and  scratching.  Males 
will  more  often  content  themselves  with  jeers,  hoots,  and 
cat-calls,  females  with  derogatory  remarks  to  each  other 
about  the  offending  males  in  their  presence,  or  with  quiet 
planning  to  outwit  them,  injure  their  property,  or  make  them 
appear  ridiculous. 

4.  a.  Among  the  social  instincts  tender  affection  is  more 
likely  to  be  found  in  girls  than  in  boys,  and  in  such  forms  as 
delight  in  babies,  desire  to  "  mind  "  them,  and  in  patient  care 
of  Uttle  children  up  to  about  four  years  old,  pride  in  showing 
them  off. 

b.  Gregariousness  is  more  marked  in  boys,  and  is  shown 
chiefly  in  the  formation  of  the  gang.  Although  beginning 
at  eight  or  so,  this  tendency  seems  to  be  stronger  in  the  years 
eleven  to  fourteen.  Girls,  being  left  out  of  so  many  of  the 
boys'  social  activities,  must  perforce  congregate  with  mem- 
bers of  their  own  sex ;  but  it  is  to  be  questioned  whether  they 
seek  each  other's  company  as  actively  as  do  boys.  We  have 
no  conclusive  evidence  on  this  point.  With  both  sexes  it  is 
an  age  for  chums.     The  particular  friend  chosen  seems  to 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven    301 

be  the  result  of  casual  propinquity  rather  than  conscious 
selection  for  reasons  of  character  or  temperamental  affinity. 

c.  Attention-getting,  display,  mastering  and  submissive  be- 
havior are  all  noticeable,  but  are  not  specially  different  from 
what  they  have  been.  There  is  a  growing  desire  to  mask 
attempts  to  attract  attention,  to  feign  indifference  during 
acts  of  display  on  the  part  of  boys.  Towards  women,  girls 
may  be  quite  demonstrative  where  boys  will  be  shy,  attempt- 
ing to  conceal  the  shyness  with  assumed  rough  rudeness. 

d.  So  far  as  the  5e:t:  instinct  is  concerned,  this  year  falls  in 
the  undifferentiated  period.  On  the  physical  side,  since  girls 
mature  earlier  than  do  boys,  there  will  be,  besides  the  general 
spurt  of  growth,  some  development  of  the  secondary  sex 
characteristics,  and  in  about  four  to  seven  per  cent  of  cases 
the  appearance  of  the  menses  before  the  twelfth  birthday. 
Instruction  should  include  knowledge  of  this  approaching 
change  that  there  may  be  no  psychic  shock  when  it  comes. 
Boys  are  probably  more  widely  informed  and  more  misin- 
formed than  girls  in  general  sex  matters  by  this  age,  and  are 
also  more  likely  to  have  formed  undesirable  habits.  Inde- 
terminate, uncomprehended  sexual  excitement  may  be  in- 
duced by  such  activities  as  horseback  or  bicycle-riding,  pole- 
climbing,  sliding  or  swinging.  On  the  psychic  side  there  is 
rarely  any  genuine  falling  in  love  at  this  period.  Rather  are 
attractions  and  adorations  casual,  part  of  transient  attach- 
ments, and  felt  for  members  of  the  same  sex  as  often  as  not. 
It  is  probable  that  there  is  never  any  connection  consciously 
realized  between  such  physical  phenomena  as  may  be  ex- 
perienced and  the  emotional,  psychic  facts.  Love  stories 
are  not  cared  for  now,  indeed  there  is  a  marked  impatience 
with  them.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year  some  few  girls  may 
develop  a  romantic  streak  remarkably  far  removed  from 
everyday  affairs.  Forced  into  daily  companionship  with 
young  men  not  of  the  family  there  may  be  a  perfectly  child- 
like,  frank   chumming,   or  girls  may  become  restive,   shy, 


302 


Psychology  of  Childhood 


uncertain  in  behavior,  perhaps  protectively  rude  without 
developing  the  coquetry  or  self-consciousness  that  would  be 
natural  at  fourteen  years  old.  To  be  caressed  or  kissed  by 
such  men  would  be  an  affront  to  the  more  mature,  or  a  per- 
fectly simple  matter  to  the  less  mature,  wherein  Hes  a  danger, 
of  course.  For  a  boy  to  be  kissed  by  a  girl  would  be  over- 
whelmingly shameful.  For  him  to  be  caressed  by  a  young 
woman  would  be  felt  as  indecent  and  undignified;  in  some 
cases  there  is  risk  of  arousing  unexpected  instinctive  reactions, 
and  the  practice  is  distinctly  inadvisable.  A  big  brother  in 
the  true  sense  is  what  a  boy  chiefly  needs  to  steer  him  straight 
at  this  time.  Both  boys  and  girls  are  better  managed  by 
older  members  of  the  same  sex.  Allied  with  this  instinct 
may  be  mentioned  the  added  clothes  consciousness  of  girls, 
and  the  budding  chivalry  towards  girls  and  women  in  boys. 

e.  Rivalry  is  a  very  strong  tendency  at  this  age  and  enters 
into  almost  all  play  and  work  undertaken.  As  noted  before, 
it  is  individual  rather  than  team  rivalry,  though  the  emphasis 
shifts  somewhat  during  the  year.  Envy  and  jealousy  are 
not  so  strong  now  as  they  may  be  later,  and  have  developed 
beyond  the  little  child's  phase  of  coveting  other  toys,  clothes, 
and  so  on. 

/.  Kindliness  as  an  instinct  comes  so  often  into  opposi- 
tion with  teasing,  fighting,  and  rivalry  that  it  does  not  get 
much  unhindered  growth;  nevertheless  it  is  there,  and  is 
manifested  in  occasional  beautiful  outbursts  of  sympathy, 
generosity,  efforts  to  relieve,  self-denial  for  causes  appeal- 
ingly  presented,  thus  giving  good  ground  for  the  development 
of  genuine  altruism.  In  general  there  is  a  willingness  to  share 
food  with  those  who  need  or  with  those  who  are  friends,  to 
help  the  weak  or  injured,  to  do  things  for  the  defective,  to  be 
glad  at  others'  happiness. 

5.  Among  other  instinctive  tendencies  now  prominent 
may  be  mentioned  manipulation,  a  big  factor  in  many  ac- 
tivities besides  the  plays  already  noted ;  curiosity,  the  motive 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven    303 

power  for  much  acquisition  of  knowledge  about  concrete 
physical  realities ;  language  interest,  leading  to  appreciation  of 
puns,  conundrums,  ciphers,  puzzles,  aphorisms,  parabohc 
utterances,  to  the  practice  already  illustrated  of  inventing 
verbal  symbols,  languages,  and  the  writing  of  poems  and 
stories,  also  to  the  ease  with  which  new  languages  may  be 
acquired.  A  sense  of  humor  is  further  manifested  in  the  use 
of  nicknames,  in  contriving  practical  jokes,  perhaps-  in  the 
rather  frequent  and  continuous  laughter. 

Mental   characteristics.  —  Intellectually,   children  at  this 
age  have  learned  a  great  deal  through  their  perceptual  ex- 
periences, they  have  greatly  refined  and  clarified 
their  perceptual  processes,  and  are  still   tremen-  thefenerai 
dously  interested  in  the  physical  world  about  them,  mental 
Keenly  observant  of  all  sorts  of  details,  they  are  ^isUcs?^^' 
less  subject  than  are  adults  to  such  illusions  as 
depend  on  ignoring  things  grown  familiar  through  long  use. 
Their    school    training    has   emphasized   their   natural   eye- 
mindedness  in  the  process  of  learning  to  read  and  use  books, 
but  even  yet  it  does  not  appeal  to  the  eye  in  other  ways  as 
well  as  it  might  do  with  objects  rather  than  pictures  and  dia- 
grams rather  than  oral  descriptions.     Still  less  has  it  provided 
for  the  hands  in  constructive  activities,  though  to  explore  thus 
the  use  and  action  of  objects  is  of  vital  interest  to  children. 

At  this  age  the  creative  imagination  is  reahstic  rather 
than  idealistic;  so  also  is  the  constructive  imagery  and  the 
attempt  to  imitate.  The  reproductive  imagery,  in  which- 
ever form  it  is  employed,  is  fairly  good  at  this  time  in  point 
'of  accuracy.  Memory  itself  is  concrete  rather  than  abstract ; 
but  already  there  are  well-marked  individual  differences  in 
the  type  of  thing  best  remembered,  some  children  excelling 
with  sensed  and  perceived  facts,  others  with  numbers,  symbols, 
verbal  systems,  desultory  facts,  others  with  associated  in- 
formation about  objects.  From  these  facts  about  memory, 
and  since  the  time  sense  is  well  developed,  it  is  a  good  time 


^04  Psychology  of  Childhood 


to  teach  history  as  connected,  sequential  narrative.  The 
interest  and  memory  will  center  round  the  deeds  rather  than 
about  such  abstract  things  as  poHtical  motives,  terms  of 
treaties,  changes  in  constitutions.  Again,  since  the  rhythm 
sense  is  strong,  reproductive  imagery  good,  and  muscle  dex- 
terity being  coordinated,  it  is  a  good  time  to  have  children  of 
special  ability  trained  at  some  musical  instrument;  to  start 
only  in  the  teens  is  too  late,  so  far  as  technique  goes.  Again, 
since  there  is  a  language  interest  it  is  an  excellent  age  for 
acquiring  a  wide  vocabulary  in  one's  own  and  foreign  tongues, 
for  memorizing  the  more  formal  aspects  of  geography,  gram- 
mar, and  the  like,  as  well  as  literary  selections.  Verbal  learn- 
ing comes  particularly  easy  at  this  age,  an  advantageous  fact 
so  far  as  remembering  paradigms,  lists  of  facts,  mere  words 
is  concerned,  disadvantageous  so  far  as  the  habit  of  appre- 
ciating the  meaning  of  whole  passages  is  desired.  Somewhere 
about  now  comes  the  greatest  relative  increase  of  immediate 
memory,  though  this  sort  of  retention  is  less  good  than  it  is 
in  adult  Hfe.  The  power  of  prolonged  retention  is  still  on 
the  increase,  so  that,  taken  together,  these  two  facts  explain 
this  **  golden  age  of  memory." 

The  power  of  forming  abstractions  is  not  good,  nor  is  the 
interest  in  abstract  truth,  nor  the  memory  for  abstract  things. 
Concepts  of  time,  of  space,  and  of  number  are  fairly  well 
developed  within  the  Hmits  of  daily  experience  and  of  vivid 
imagination.  On  the  whole,  concepts  are  chiefly  in  the  form 
of  generic  imagery  or  generalized  analogy  to  some  specific 
instance.  As  a  result,  reasoning  for  reasoning's  sake  seldom 
interests  children  at  this  age,  conduct  is  seldom  generalized, 
money  values  need  to  be  personalized,  aesthetic  and  ethica) 
values  need  to  be  made  specific  and  concrete. 

It  is  an  age  when  the  emotions  are  strong,  the  volitional 
impulses  are  also  strong,  but  self-control  is  still  weak.  Al- 
though freedom  for  initiative  in  moral,  aesthetic,  and  intel- 
lectual fields  is  very  necessary,  the  opportunity  for  this  must 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven     305 

be  restricted  and  balanced  with  frequent  direction ;  impartial 
control  is  equally  important  for  the  developing  eleven-year- 
l|Olds,  and  is,  moreover,  appreciated  by  them. 

Mental  tests.  —  In  the  last  revision  of  the  Binet  general 
intelligence  tests  there  is  no  set  for  this  special  age;  but  a 
mental  age  of  eleven  would  be  attained  by  any  child 
passing  all  the  ten-year  tests  and  half  those  for  Yome7uh9 
twelve  years,  or,  of  course,  nearly  all  the  ten-year  testsfor 
tests  and  scattered  tests  in  the  higher  ages.     Thus  ageTi^^T 
he  should  be  able  to  give  the  meanings  of  from 
thirty-five  to  forty  words  from  the  selected  list,  indicating 
a  working  vocabulary  of  6300  to  7200  words.     He  should 
be  able  to  detect  the  absurdities  in  the  test  sentences,  draw 
the  standard  simple  designs  from  memory,  give  the  sub- 
stance of  a  simple  paragraph  read,  name  at  least  sixty  words 
in  three  minutes,  and  pass  the  "  comprehension  tests  "  of 
the  tenth-year  series.     At  twelve  he  should  be  able :  (i)  to 
define   satisfactorily   three   out   of  the  five   abstract  words 
pity,  revenge,  charity,  justice,  envy;  (2)  to  rearrange  mentally 
the  scattered  words  of  three  dissected  sentences ;  (3)  to  repeat 
backwards  five  digits  given  orally;  (4)  to  interpret  two  out 
of  five  fables  read;  (5)  to  interpret  rather  than  merely  enu- 
merate the  objects  in  three  designated  pictures  out  of  four 
shown ;    (6)  to  pass  the  -practical  judgment  "  ball  and  field  " 
test,  and  (7)  to  show  power  of  analysis  in  naming  similarities 
between  certain  things. 

School  standards  in  various  countries.  —  Of  added  interest 
are  the  standards  of  work  expected  of  eleven-year-old 
children  in  schools  of  different  types  in  different  ^J//^i-, 
countries.^      In    the    French    elementary    schools  expected  of 
children  of  eleven  who  had  progressed  without  any  insc^?  * 
setback  would  be  in  the  first  year  of  the  senior 

1  Up  to  1914  as  far  as  some  of  the  data  are  concerned.  Details  based  on 
commissioners'  reports,  published  syllabi,  principal's  workplans,  also  specific 
studies  of  Preston,  London,  and  Liverpool,  England,  and  New  York  City. 


3o6  Psychology  of  Childhood 

division,  in  the  German  Volksschule  in  the  Mittelstufe,  in 
England  in  standard  6,  in  the  States  in  the  sixth  grade.  In 
all,  about  the  same  group  of  subjects  would  be  studied,  e.g. 
the  mother  tongue,  including  grammar,  oral  and  written 
composition,  reading,  spelhng  and  dictation,  and.  Hterature; 
also  history,  geography,  singing,  drawing,  easy  science,  arith- 
metic, some  form  of  manual  or  industrial  arts,  woodwork, 
cookery  or  sewing,  according  to  sex  and  locaHty;  but  no 
foreign  language.  In  Germany  and  England  religious  in- 
struction is  added,  civics  in  the  States.  Geometry  is  begun 
in  France  and  Germany,  is  related  to  arithmetic  in  England, 
chiefly  to  the  drawing  in  New  York  City.  Algebra  as  far 
as  simple  equations  is  included  in  England.  In  arithmetic, 
children  in  all  four  countries  study  fractions  and  decimals, 
some  commercial  forms,  reduction  in  weights  and  measures, 
and  mensuration.  German  children  begin  percentage,  Eng- 
lish children  are  introduced  to  the  metric  system,  American 
children  spend  most  of  their  time  on  percentage.  In  the 
grammar  of  the  mother  tongue,  German  children  are  busy 
with  irregular  nouns,  compound  tenses,  adverbial  extensions, 
subjunctives  and  conditional  moods,  with  an  intensive  study 
of  pronouns.  English  children  study  sentence  analysis  and 
the  syntax  of  all  parts  of  speech.  New  York  City  children 
do  not  begin  a  formal  study  of  technical  grammar  until  this 
year,  so  take  only  a  rough  analysis  of  sentences,  simple  in- 
flections, and  syntax  of  parts  of  speech,  excluding  verbs. 

Eleven-year-olds  may  be  found  in  some  type  of  secondary 
school  such  as  the  lycee  in  France,  the  gymnasium  in  Germany, 
the  grammar  or  high  school  in  England,  the  lower  classes  of 
some  private  school  m  America.  In  these  last  the  course  of 
study  is  so  nearly  like  that  of  the  elementary  school  sixth 
grade,  except  for  the  possible  begmning  of  one  foreign  lan- 
guage, that  no  further  comparison  of  the  details  for  secondary 
schools  in  the  States  is  made  here. 

In  France,  of  children  who  attend  the  lycees,  a  boy  of 


\ 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven     307 

eleven  would  be  normally  in  the  lowest  class  of  the  secondary 
school  with  a  program  of  22  or  23  school  hours  a  week.  He 
will  have  already  studied  a  modern  language  for  two  or  three 
years  and  may  now,  according  to  the  type  of  course  he  elects, 
begin  Latin.  11  to  15  of  his  school  hours  all  together  will 
be  spent  on  language,  including  the  mother  tongue.  His 
eleven-year-old  sister  would  be  in  the  top  class  of  the  pre- 
paratory school,  getting  ready  to  enter  the  five-year  second- 
ary course  proper.  She,  too,  would  be  putting  over  one 
seventh  of  her  time  on  modern  languages,  less  than  that  on 
the  two  subjects,  history  and  geography,  only  half  an  hour 
a  week  on  any  science. 

In  Germany,  rather  different  programs  and  standards  are 
used  in  the  various  types  of  secondary  schools.  A  boy 
going  to  the  Realschule  or  to  the  Oberrealschule,  or  a  girl 
attending  the  Lyzeum  or  the  Higher  Girls'  School,  would 
be  in  the  third  year  of  French,  but  has  had  no  Latin. 
A  boy  attending  the  Gymnasium  or  the  Realgymnasium  has 
had  two  years  of  Latin  by  this  time  and  now  begins  French. 

An  eleven-year-old  boy  in  a  secondary  school  in  England 
(not  the  preparatory  schools  for  the  famous  ''  public  "  schools, 
but  the  kind  more  nearly  corresponding  to  those  already 
described)  would  be  studying  both  Latin  and  French,  geom- 
etry, symbolized  arithmetic  preparatory  to  beginning  algebra, 
and  nature  study  —  less  mathematics  than  in  the  elementary 
school,  standard  6,  it  will  be  noted.  A  girl  would  now  begin 
French  if  she  were  transferred  from  an  elementary  school, 
but  may  have  studied  it  for  two  years  previously.  She 
would  begin  algebra,  tal^  geometry  in  connection  with 
drawing,  begin  physics,  B^continue  with  nature  study  in 
the  field  of  botany.  ^^ 

The  following  table  shows  the  distribution  of  periods  per 
week  for  the  different  subjects  in  the  various  types  of  second- 
ary schools  in  the  countries  discussed.  It  is  less  standardized 
in  England  than  in  Germany  or  France,  but  typical  arrange- 


308 


Psychology  of  Childhood 


ments  are  shown.  These  are,  in  each  case,  the  arrangements 
for  eleven-year-olds,  in  school  periods,  unless  stated  to  be  in 
clock  hours. 


Religion  or  Ethics 
Mother  tongue  . 
Latin  .... 
Modem  language 
History  .  .  . 
Geography  .  . 
Mathematics 
Science  .  .  . 
Drawing  .  .  . 
Writing  .  .  . 
Music  .... 
Manual  arts  .  . 
Physical  training 


Germany 


e^6 
g3 


France 


England 


f 

3f 
Ah 
3 

2 

I 

s\ 

o 


*  Clock  hours. 


t  Begun. 


?  Not  stated  definitely. 


Exercise 

Gather  facts  and  make  similar  statements  for  eight-year-old 
children. 

Questions  for. 

1.  Of  what  value  are  such  studS^s  these  in  this  chapter? 

2.  What  statements  made  would  be  invahdated  by : 
{a)  great  differences  in  mental  age  ? 
{b)  differences  in  physiological  age? 
(c)  racial  differences? 


r^lBussion 

ii^^  these  i 


Cross  Section  of  Child  Life  at  Five,  and  at  Eleven     309 

3.   What  good  stories  descriptive  of  child,  life  do  you  know? 
What  makes  you  think  them  good  ? 

References  for  Reading 

Kirkpatrick,  The  Individual  in  the  Making,  chs.  5,  6. 
Pease,  Bible  School  Curriculum,  chs.  i,  3,  5,  7. 
Tyler,  Growth  and  Education,  chs.  8,  10,  11,  12. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
EXCEPTIONAL  CHILDREN 

BOUNDARIES   OF  ORDINARY  AND  EXCEPTIONAL 

—  We  cannot  classify  children,  any  more  than  we  can  adults, 
What  is  an  ^^^^  discrete  groups  consisting  of  ordinary  and  ex- 
exceptionai  ceptional.  Whatever  quality  we  consider,  what- 
chiid?  ^^gj.  gJ-Q^p  Qf  abilities  we  measure,  we  find  that 

pupils  are  distributed  along  a  continuous  scale  the  whole 
range  of  which  we  are  perhaps  unable  to  discover.  Distribu- 
tion does  not  occur  evenly  along  this  scale,  however,  but  most  ^ 
ratings  of  ability  cluster  around  a  mediocre  point,  while  the  '^ 
further  we  look  in  either  direction  the  fewer  ratings  are  found. 
Thus,  in  measurements  of  the  height  of  a  group  of  adult  women 
of  the  same  race  we  should  find  most  of  them  around  5  ft.  3  to 

4  inches,  fewer  between  5  ft.  and  5  ft.  3,  or  5  ft.  4  and  5  ft.  7, 
fewer  still  between  these  points  and  4  ft.  8  on  the  one  hand  and 

5  ft.  9  on  the  other,  fewest  of  all  beyond  these  last  points. 
Yet  where  is  the  line  to  be  drawn  between  ordinary  and  ex- 
ceptional? And  just  as  we  find  all  degrees  of  stature  rather 
than  distinct  groups  differing  from  each  other  by  an  inch,  so 
we  find  all  degrees  of  variability  in  any  trait  we  examine, 
blindness,  nervousness,  morahty,  or  general  intelligence,  and 
we  must  keep  in  mind  that  to  be  '*  exceptional  "  is  a  matter 
of  fine  shadings  of  differences.  Just,  however,  as  the  dwarf 
or  the  giant  or  the  idiot  or  the  genius  claim  our  attention  be- 
cause they  are  so  obviously  towards  the  vanishing  point  of 
the  possible  range  of  abilities,  so  it  becomes  a  relatively  easy 
task  to  describe  such  extreme  variations  from  mediocrity. 

310 


I 


Exceptional  Children  311 

We  must  remember  always  that  in  proportion  as  any  one  de- 
parts at  all  from  the  conventional  standard,  these  descriptions 
will  fit  him  in  part.  Thus,  the  student  may  find  character- 
istics of  the  neurasthenic,  the  precocious,  or  the  moral  imbecile 
all  hereinafter  to  be  described,  either  by  introspection  or  by 
observation  in  acquaintances;  but  this  need  not  be  a  dis- 
turbing consideration.  It  should  rather  make  us  awake  to 
the  value  of  prevention  rather  than  cure  and  to  the  necessity 
for  right  treatment,  so  as  to  establish  poise  and  adjustment 
socially. 

Neither  can  there  be  a  hard  and  fast  line  between  intel- 
lectual, physical,  and  moral  scales  of  measuring.     Such  are 
artificial  divisions  of  a  unitary  individual.     Relief  How  can 
of  physical  disorder  may  bring  about  moral  im-  laslfbT°^ 
provement  or  intellectual  development;    training  classified? 
along  volitional  and  emotional  lines  may  relieve  nervous  dis- 
orders, just  as  undue  pressure  may  induce  them ;  wise  moral 
training  tends  to  intellectual  sanity.     However,  for  conven- 
ience sake,  we  may  think  of  deviations  from  the  normal  on 
the  minus  and  on  the  plus  side  in  these  three  fields.     Thus, 

we have    criminals,    degenerates,    moral    imbeciles,    selfish 

people,  troublesome  cases  —  shading  up  to  the  good,  those  of 
fine  character,  the  reformers,  and  the  saints.  We  have  also 
the  blind,  deaf,  paralyzed,  diseased,  sickly,  anaemic,  and  what 
not  —  shading  up  to  the  healthy,  thoroughly  sound,  super- 
energetic  among  us.  We  have  the  idiots,  feeble-minded,  and 
so  on,  shading  up  to  the  bright,  precocious,  and  geniuses  that 
exist.  It  is  noteworthy  that  as  so  many  more  causes  are  likely 
to  bring  people  down  in  the  scale  than  to  send  them  up,  so 
our  attention  has  been  centered  more  on  those  that  deviate 
in  a  minus  direction  from  what  we  regard  as  the  norm,  and 
even  our  nomenclature  is  fuller  here  than  in  the  upper  end  of 
the  range. 

EXCEPTIONAL  MORALITY.  —  Taking  the  field  of  morals 
first,  —  there  are  people  in  whom  a  moral  defect  is  latent. 


^12  Psychology  of  Childhood 

who  are  lacking  in  any  sense  of  obligation,  any  feeling  of 
shame  or  repugnance  at  thoughts  of  immoral  acts.  Children 
What  is  a  ^  whom  such  attitudes  cannot  be  cultivated  are 
moral  defec-  potential  Criminals,  though  their  intelligence  may 
tiveiike?  ^^  j^-gj^  enough  to  keep  them  from  transgressing 
any  legal  code.  Others  exist  who  form  immoral  or  criminal 
habits  in  spite  of  the  law  of  unpleasant  results,  who  seem 
unable  to  check  their  undesirable  tendencies.  Certain  in- 
stincts, such  as  self-display,  bullying,  the  sex  instinct,  jealousy, 
acquisition,  may  be  perverted  either  singly  or  in  combi- 
nation with  others;  or  there  may  be  a  general  instability 
of  control,  a  high  degree  of  suggestibility  and  other  rather 
general  volitional  disorders. 

These  divergencies  may  coexist  with  all  sorts  of  degrees 
of  intellect  apparently.  Cases  of  precocious  children  are 
known  who  vary  from  being  non-social,  disagreeable,  to  being 
morbidly  egoistic,  oblivious  of  the  rights  of  others,  possessing 
tendencies  to  suicide.  Many  at  the  high  end  of  the  distribu- 
tion for  intellect  show  no  minus  abnormalities  of  behavior 
but  rather  a  deviation  in  the  plus  direction.  On  the  other 
hand  some  few  criminals  and  those  of  vicious  propensities  are 
highly  intelligent,  while  among  inmates  of  prisons,  reforma- 
tories, and  the  like,  a  large  proportion  of  feeble-minded  persons 
are  found.  Exact  measurements  are  exceedingly  scanty  here  ;^ 
but  Woods  and  Pearson  find  a  positive  correlation  between 
.character  and  intellectual  ability  of  about  -f-  .4  to  +  .5.  When 
moral  defectives  are  demonstrably  below  the  norm  in  intelli- 
gence also  they  are  termed  moral  imbeciles.  They  are  tech- 
nically described  as  persons  who  display  from  an  early  age, 
and  in  spite  of  careful  upbringing,  strong  vicious  or  criminal 
propensities,  on  which  punishment  has  little  or  no  deterrent 

*  Consult  Dolbear,  Ped.  Sem.  vol.  19. 
Garrison,  Burk,  HoUingworth.    Jour.  Appl.  Psych,  vol.  i. 
Woods,  Mental  and  Moral  Heredity  in  Royalty. 
Pearson,  Biometrika,  vol.  5,  pp.  105-146. 
Compare  lives  of  Chatterton,  Rousseau,  DeWitte,  Goethe,  Bach. 


Exceptional  Children  313 

effect.  If  they  are  of  low  grade  mentally,  they  exhibit  bestial 
tendencies ;  if  of  middle  grade  they  are  irresponsible  and  mis- 
chievous ;  if  of  high  grade  they  seem  to  possess  a  ''  genius  for 
evil.'^  1 

Causes.  —  The  causes  of  these  moral  divergencies  are 
varied  and  multiple.  Heredity's  influence  is  shown  in  that 
large  numbers  of  criminals  and  delinquents  come  what  causes 
from  neuropathic  stock,  the  statistics  available  exceptional 
giving  a  morbid  inheritance  in  from  23  to  77  per  ^°^°^^*v^ 
cent  of  the  custodial  cases.^  Faulty  training  may  reveal  or 
accentuate  bad  traits,  just  as  careful  training  may  reduce 
their  potency.  Poor  environment  may  stifle  the  growth  of 
desirable  original  tendencies,  while  a  good  environment  may 
develop  to  the  highest  such  good  heredity  as  is  there.  The 
combined  influence  of  heredity  and  environment  is  seen  in 
studies  of  such  families  as  the  Jukes,  the  Kallikaks,  the  Ed- 
wards. 

Diagnosis.  —  The  diagnosis  of  exceptional  morahty  is  not 
so  easy  as  it  might  seem.  For  instance,  emotional  instabihty 
with  extreme  departures  from  normal  behavior  ^ho  shall 
may  be  a  temporary  condition  due  to  the  emer-  diagnose, 
gence  of  long-repressed  instincts,  or  a  mere  phase  ""^  ^°^^ 
of  adolescent  growth,  or  a  symptom  of  dementia  prascox, 
or  an  expression  of  psychic  epilepsy,  or  the  result  of 
an  admired  companion's  influence.  A  vacillating,  weak, 
day-dreamy  condition  may  be  due  to  hysteria,  to  mal- 
nutrition, to  rapid  physical  growth,  to  defective  sense  organs, 
to  a  lack  of  sympathetic  fellows,  to  precocity  in  love 
affairs.  Fits  of  perversity  may  be  the  accompaniment  of  an 
ingrained  perversion  of  instincts,  of  defective  cranial  develop- 
ment, of  reflex  nerve  disturbances  from  impacted  teeth,  of 
unusually  strict,  repressive  control.  Marked  "  goodness " 
is  less  apt  to  be  recognized,  perhaps,  since  it  gives  us  so  little 

1  Barr,  Mental  Defectives,  p.  90. 

2  Tredgold,  Mental  Deficiency,  pp.  297-298. 


^14  Psychology  of  Childhood 

concern,  involving  as  it  does  better  social  adjustment.  The 
social  worker,  the  parent,  the  teacher,  the  physician,  and  the 
psychologist  may  all  be  needed  to  assist  in  the  diagnosis  of 
various  cases. 

Treatment.  —  Legal  control  becomes  necessary  for  children 
ot  vicious,  morbid,  criminal  tendencies  so  pronounced  as  to 

render  them  a  danger  to  society.  Those  not  liable 
OiTn^oraiiy  ^^  institutional  care  are  likely  to  cause  teacher 
exceptional  and  parent  great  trouble.  Remedial  physical 
^treated?        measures  under  a  doctor's  advice  should  claim  the 

attention  first,  then  great  care  to  hygienic  Hving. 
Intelligence  tests  may  be  administered  under  a  clinical  psychol- 
ogist's direction,  and  a  special  method  of  teaching  determined 
upon.  The  social  conditions  and  relationships  need  to  be 
investigated.  The  weak  parent  who  *'  spoils  "  the  children, 
the  morbidly  anxious  parent  who  nags  and  never  leaves  them 
alone,  the  stern  parent  who  seeks  to  suppress,  the  ignorant 
parent  who  fails  to  provide  stimuli  and  results  of  the  right 
kind,  the  selfish  parent  who  takes  no  interest  in  the  children's 
development  —  these  and  others  need  to  be  reasoned  with. 
Redirection  of  instincts  and  reeducation  of  habits  are  generally 
necessary  for  the  children  themselves,  with  healthy  outlet 
for  the  imagination,  problems  of  conduct  definitely  criticized 
and  judged.  Experiments  in  moral  reeducation  vary  in 
nature  from  providing  the  most  rigid  type  of  miUtary  dis- 
cipline with  autocratic  regulation  of  every  detail  of  life,  to 
conditions  of  free  self-government  imitated  from  democratic 
institutions.  We  are  not  yet  sure  enough  of  the  results  to 
be  dogmatic  on  the  point  of  which  is  best  in  general.  For 
specific  children  it  may  be  a  matter  of  the  degree  of  mental 
inferiority  which  shall  decide  the  policy  of  segregation  and 
permanent  supervision,  as  in  the  case  of  the  moral  imbecile 
or  psychic  epileptic  who  prove  unable  to  benefit  from  the 
exhibitions  of  social  disapproval  found  in  a  "  junior  republic." 
Or  it  may  be  a  matter  of  the  degree  and  kind  of  moral  diver- 


Exceptional  Children  315 

gence  which  shall  indicate  the  advisability  of  permanent  con- 
trol, or  of  assistance  in  assuming  responsibihty,  self-direction, 
leadership. 

EXCEPTIONAL  PHYSICAL   CONDITIONS.  —  Cases  of 

physical  divergence  from  the  norm  on  the  minus  side  will 
include    sense    defects,    abnormaHties    in    height,   whatMnds 
weight,  rate  of  growth,  and  maturing,  conditions  ofexcep- 
due  to  toxic  poisoning,  nervous  disorders  of  various  *icS^cor>^' 
kinds,  conditions  due  to  special  injury.     Some  of  ditions 
these  first  listed  have  been  discussed  in  an  earlier  f^^dfer^^ 
chapter ;  some,  such  as  cretinism,  will  be  taken  up  linow 
in  connection  with  feeble-mindedness.  ^  °"' 

Nervous  disorders  include  epilepsy,  hysteria,  chorea,  habit 
spasms,  neurasthenia,  dementia  praecox. 

Epilepsy.  Kinds  and  cause.  —  Epilepsy  is  known  in  four 
forms — ^ grand  mal,  petit  mal,  Jacksonian,  and  psychic  epilepsy. 
The  first  is  marked  by  fits  of  unconsciousness  lasting  from  five 
to  twenty  minutes,  preceded  in  some  cases  by  premonitory 
signals;  the  second  by  unconsciousness  lasting  only  a  few 
seconds,  so  that  its  existence  may  pass  unnoticed.  Jacksonian 
epilepsy  is  distinguished  by  localized  rather  than  general  con- 
vulsions and  by  no  unconsciousness ;  the  psychic  form  involves 
abnormal  behavior,  emotional  outbursts  rather  than  rigidity 
of  muscles,  and  violent  spasms,  but  is  like  the  first  form  in 
that  the  child  does  not  remember  afterwards  what  he  did. 
The  immediate  cause  of  epilepsy  is  a  disorder  of  the  motor 
areas  of  the  brain.  Such  things  as  irritation  in  the  intestinal 
tract,  or  a  tumor  pressing  on  the  brain  substance  may  bring 
on  a  seizure.  By  far  the  greater  number  of  cases  are  due  to 
poor  heredity  in  which  alcoholism,  syphilis,  or  insanity  is 
present.  It  may  be  coincident  with  genius  or  with  feeble- 
mindedness, with  health  otherwise  good,  or  with  insanity. 
Frequent  and  severe  attacks  bring  about  mental  deterioration. 

Diagnosis  and  treatment.  —  The  detection  of  epilepsy  in 
the  first  and  third  forms  described  is  easy  even  for  the  layman, 


3i6  Psychology  of  Childhood 

not  always  so  with  the  fourth,  scarcely  ever  with  the  second. 
In  consequence  of  the  difficulty  in  these  forms,  much  injustice 
may  have  been  done  to  sufferers  from  this  disease.  True 
epilepsy  is  practically  incurable.  Children  subject  to  it 
should  be  taught  in  special  classes,  both  for  their  own  sakes 
and  to  avoid  upsetting  other  children.  A  quiet,  regular  Hfe, 
free  from  excitement,  with  plenty  of  occupation,  is  what  is 
chiefly  needed.  Any  habits  that  might  increase  the  general 
instabiUty,  such  as  the  use  of  alcohol,  should  be  avoided. 
Sometimes  a  treatment  with  bromides  is  ordered,  or,  in  special 
cases  of  the  Jacksonian  form,  surgical  measures  will  afford 
relief.     Epileptics  should  not  marry. 

Hysteria.  Characteristics. — Hysteria  is  a  functional  dis- 
ease resulting  from  nervous  instabiUty,  manifesting  itself  in 
lessened  mental  control.  Though  not  developing  till  middle 
to  late  adolescence,  the  earlier  years  are  important  in  predis- 
posing to  this  trouble.  The  characteristics  are  chiefly  in- 
stability of  emotional  control,  abnormal  suggestibihty,  in- 
ordinate love  of  day-dreaming,  a  tendency  so  completely  to 
banish  unpleasant  emotional  experiences  that  they  drop  out 
of  memory  and  tend  to  originate  a  sort  of  dissociated  person- 
ality. Various  kinds  of  motor  and  sensory  disturbances  may 
occur,  from  simulated  epileptic  fits  to  the  development  of 
areas  of  anaesthesia.  Real  epidemics  of  hysterical  origin  are 
reported  to  have  taken  place  among  school  children  due  to 
psychic  contagion. 

Diagnosis  and  treatment.  —  Since  hysteria  may  assume  the 
outward  form  of  almost  any  disease,  ranging  from  deafness, 
dyspepsia,  and  the  like,  to  paralysis,  it  is  a  difficult  matter 
for  even  the  physician  to  diagnose  it.  As  mental  hygiene  is 
more  important  for  its  cure  than  mere  physical  regulation, 
the  wise  treatment  of  it  lies  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  teacher. 
Sometimes  it  may  be  well  to  remove  the  sufferer  entirely  from 
home  influences  and  give  him  much  outdoor  life.  Self-con- 
trol must  be  encouraged  and  trained,  objective  interests  sup- 


Exceptional  Children  317 

plied  to  counteract  introspection,  occupations  provided  to 
guard  against  the  dangers  of  idleness,  and,  for  the  more  overt 
symptoms,  simple  suggestive  measures  rather  than  scolding 
or  any  talk  which  draws  the  attention  constantly  to  them. 

Chorea.  Symptoms  and  treatment.  —  Chorea,  or  St.  Vitus 
dance,  as  it  is  popularly  called,  is  a  disease  commonest  be- 
tween the  ages  of  eight  and  fifteen,  especially  prevalent  in 
the  spring  months,  and  from  two  to  three  times  as  frequent 
in  girls  as  in  boys.  About  one  per  cent  of  children  suffer  from 
it.  It  is  characterized  by  intensive,  uncontrollable  jerks  and 
twitches  of  the  face,  head,  limbs,  or  sometimes  all  of  them,  in 
severe  cases  by  interference  with  speech  and  swallowing. 
The  mental  characteristics  are  capriciousness,  instabiHty, 
poor  sleep,  perhaps  with  nightmare.  It  may  come  on  so 
gradually  as  not  to  be  noticed  in  the  early  stages;  it  lasts 
from  six  to  twelve  weeks  and  may  then  entirely  cease.  In 
most  cases  there  is  a  history  of  rheumatism  as  well  as  nervous 
instability,  and  a  majority  have  heart  symptoms  also.  As 
the  onset  is  so  gradual,  it  is  often  not  properly  diagnosed  nor 
treated  early  enough.  The  children  are  considered  clumsy, 
peevish,  awkward,  and  are  perhaps  scolded.  At  a  later  stage 
there  is  little  difficulty  in  recognizing  what  is  the  trouble. 
Choreic  children  should  be  immediately  removed  from  school 
—  partly  to  prevent  psychic  contagion  —  and  put  to  bed 
for  absolute  rest  away  from  relatives  and  friends  till  all  S3anp- 
toms  have  subsided  and  there  is  no  danger  of  a  recurrent 
attack. 

Tics.  — ■  Habit  spasms,  or  tics,  are  sometimes  mistaken  for 
chorea,  but  consist  of  violent  contractions  of  an  isolated 
muscle,  or  group  of  muscles,  rather  than  the  irregularly  dis- 
tributed, non-predictable  jerks  of  chojrea.  They  represent  a 
functional  disorder,  probably  of  the  medulla,  and  are  often 
associated  with  reflex  irritation,  anaemia,  obsessions,  and  other 
emotional  complexes.  Great  effort  to  control  them  may 
result  in  a  temporary  cessation,  but  the  spasm  may  reappear 


31 8  Psychology  of  Childhood 

in  some  other  location.  Sympathetic  help  in  self-control  is 
needed  rather  than  severe  attempts  at  repression.  If  psychic 
in  origin,  they  may  be  helped  wonderfully  by  suggestion. 

Neurasthenia.  Characteristics  and  cause.  —  Neurotic,  un- 
stable children  should  be  specially  guarded,  since  this  condi- 
tion is  too  often  the  forerunner  of  serious  mental  disorders, 
including  insanity,  in  adult  Hfe.  About  5  per  cent  of  children 
of  school  age  are  neurotic,  meaning  by  that  that  they  are  suf- 
ficiently far  down  the  scale  of  nervous  stability  to  make  them 
susceptible  to  emotional  complexes  which  will  interfere  with 
good  adjustment  to  the  outside  world.  The  chief  character- 
istics may  include,  on  the  physical  side,  headaches,  gastric 
disorders,  sleeplessness,  uncoordinated  movements.  On  the 
psychic  side  we  may  notice  eccentricity,  oversensitivity  or 
sometimes  its  opposite  extreme  listlessness  and  indifference  to 
the  opinion  of  others,  timidity  amounting  to  fear,  oppressive 
terrors,  ready  fatigability  from  any  exertion,  together  with 
a  growing  dislike  for  set  tasks,  absorption  in  imaginary  situa- 
tions, rare  joining  in  with  other  children's  occupations,  dif- 
ficulty in  reaching  decisions.  This  inner  sense  of  uncertainty, 
this  lack  of  self-assurance  shows  outwardly  not  only  in  timid- 
ity, refusal  to  face  facts,  especially  disagreeable  ones,  squarely, 
but  in  an  apparently  opposite  characteristic  —  that  of  extrav- 
agant, aggressive,  egotistic  self-assertion.  Adler  explains 
this  predominant  characteristic  as  a  "  compensation  "  for 
the  concealed  inner  state. 

Diagnosis.  —  The  tendency  to  neurasthenia  is  markedly 
hereditary,  aggravated  by  unhygienic  ways  of  living  such  as 
short  sleeping  hours,  the  use  of  stimulants,  much  social  dissi- 
Dation,  and  by  unwise  training  such  as  narrow  repressions, 
Overdevelopment  of  religious  scruples^lack  of  sound  sex  edu- 
cation. The  diagnosis  should,  as  in  the  other  disorders  men- 
tioned, be  made  by  an  expert;  but  the  teacher  may  well 
watch  for  symptoms  such  as  those  noted  above,  and  for  others 
including  inability  to  sit  still  or  to  keep  the  hands  still  when 


Exceptional  Children  310 

outstretched,  extremes  of  emotionalism,  sex  perversions, 
morbidity,  excessive  day-dreaming,  attacks  of  dizziness,  mal^ 
nutrition. 

Treatment.  — -  The  treatment  must  be  along  the  following 
lines :    (i)  removal  of  any  irritant  causes,  such  as  adenoids, 
bad  teeth;    (2)  replacing  unhygienic  Hving  habits 
by  much  quiet  rest,  overfeeding,  and  outdoor  life ;  n^rotk 
(3)    habituation  to  courageous  acts,  prevention  of  chttdrenbe 

r  1-  •   ^  1  treated? 

imagmary  fears  by  quiet  reassurance,  and  a  rea- 
soned, sympathetic  investigation;  (4)  habituation  to  brave 
moral  acts,  particularly  in  facing  painful  consequences  of  con- 
duct, accepting  failure  or  blame  at  face  value,  deciding  about 
problems  rather  than  evading  the  issue,  and  facing  difficulties 
promptly.  This  may  save  them  from  the  disturbing  influence 
of  repressed  emotional  complexes;  (5)  provision  of  oppor- 
tunities for  social  interchange  with  other  children,  especially 
in  free  play  and  in  all  sorts  of  games.  This  engenders  self- 
confidence,  teaches  many  moral  lessons  of  cause  and  effect, 
gives  an  outlet  for  the  overwrought  imagination,  and  lessens 
the  chance  for  an  unwholesome  withdrawal  into  self;  (6) 
establishment  of  impartial  adult  control,  neither  vacillating 
nor  strict,  which  shall  train  to  self-control  and  steadfastness, 
which  redirects  sympathetically  rather  than  endeavors  to 
repress,  which  encourages  a  frank  relation  between  the  child 
and  the  adult  so  that  grief,  sex  trouble,  humiliations,  disap- 
pointments, and  so  forth  may  be  confided  instead  of  dwelt 
upon  morbidly,  ventilated,  so  to  speak,  rather  than  being  left 
to  generate  an  unhealthy  atmosphere ;  (7)  the  supply  of  use- 
ful activity,  work  that  shall  be  interesting  and  adapted  to 
the  child's  ability,  which  will  occupy  his  attention  and  favor 
further  normal  development. 

Dementia  praecox.  —  Dementia  praecox  is  a  very  prevalent 
form  of  insanity  which  attacks  adolescents  particularly.  Its 
chief  symptom  is  an  aversion  to  things  practical,  and  an  excess 
of   fantastic    dreaming   which   gradually   weakens   effective 


320  Psychology  of  Childhood 

volition  so  that  the  individual  is  content  to  substitute  imagined 
for  real  deeds.  A  poor  nervous  inheritance  is  the  chief  cause 
of  this  disease.  Full  diagnosis  is,  of  course,  not  the  teacher's 
business ;  but  the  presence  of  the  condition  noted,  in  general 
of  "  a  cleavage  between  mere  thought  life  and  the  life  of 
actual  application  ''  ^  should  arouse  the  teacher  to  a  reaHzation 
of  the  grave  danger  possible,  so  that  expert  advice  may  be 
sought.  The  general  principles  of  mental  hygiene  apply  to 
the  treatment  of  suspected  cases,  emphasizing  activity  and 
objective  interests. 

EXCEPTIONAL  MENTALITY.  —  Cases  of  divergence  from 

the  norm  in  intelligence  will  include  the  dull,  the  backward, 

the  aments  on  the  one  hand,  and  bright,  precocious 

Howare  .\^       .x.  &      '  r 

subnormal     children  on  the  other. 

intelligences      Subnormal  mentality.  —  On  the  minus  side  the 

classified?        .  .    .        ,,.  .        .  .  .       . 

degrees  of  mtelhgence  grade  down  through  the 
backward,  the  moron,  the  imbecile,  to  the  idiot.  Backward 
children  are  those  whose  mental  growth  is  retarded  from  some 
environmental  condition,  such  as  a  disease.  Improvement 
up  to  normal  may  be  expected  if  the  adverse  condition  can  be 
removed  and  special  measures  taken.  Morons  are  the  highest 
division  of  the  class  known  as  feeble-minded,  or,  more  properly 
aments,  and  are  defined  as  those  capable  of  earning  a  hving 
under  favorable  circumstances,  but  incapable,  from  mental 
defect  existing  from  birth,  or  from  an  early  age  (a)  of 
competing  on  equal  terms  with  normal  people,  or  (b)  of  manag- 
ing themselves  and  their  affairs  with  ordinary  prudence. 
Imbeciles  are  defined  as  those  who  by  reason  of  mental  defect 
existing  from  birth,  or  from  an  early  age,  are  incapable  of 
earning  their  own  living,  but  are  capable  of  guarding  them- 
selves against  common  physical  dangers.  Idiots  are  the 
lowest  in  the  scale  and  are  defined  as  those  so  deeply  defective 
in  mind  from  birth,  or  from  an  early  age,  that  they  are  unable 
to  guard  themselves  against  common  physical  dangers.     Each 

1  Meyer,  Psych.  Clinic,  1908,  p.  96. 


Exceptional  Children  321 

step  of  the  scale  may  be  further  divided  into  high,  middle,  and 
low  grade,  so  that  we  may  speak  of  a  high-grade  moron, 
middle-grade  or  low-grade  moron,  similarly  for  the  imbecile 
and  the  idiot. 

The  above  definitions  have  been  in  use  since  1908,  when 
they  were  used  by  the  Royal  Commission  on  the  Care  and 
Control  of  the  Feeble-minded  on  the  recommendation  of  the 
Royal  College  of  Physicians,  London.  Some  confusion  has 
existed,  nevertheless,  in  regard  to  the  use  of  these  terms.  In 
America  the  designation  "  feeble-minded  "  has  been  popularly 
applied  to  cover  all  three  steps  of  the  scale  rather  than  to  only 
the  highest  step,  as  in  England.  There  "  mental  defective  '* 
signifies  any  of  the  three  steps.  Norsworthy  in  1906,  following 
Ireland,  has  used  "  idiot  "  in  the  same  generic  sense.  The 
student  will  do  well  to  standardize  his  nomenclature,  using 
"  aments  "  as  a  preferred  generic  term  for  those  found  in  the 
various  stages  of  idiot,  imbecile  or  moron.  Amentia  means 
''  a  state  of  mental  defect  from  birth,  or  from  an  early  age, 
due  to  incomplete  cerebral  development,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  person  affected  is  unable  to  perform  his  duties  as  a 
member  of  society  in  the  position  of  Ufe  to  which  he  is  born."  ^ 
The  condition  must  be  distinguished  from  dementia  and  from 
insanity.  While  in  amentia  the  brain  tissues  have  not  de- 
veloped properly,  uniformly,  to  the  normal  degree,  in  dementia 
they  are  degenerating,  and  in  insanity  they  function  in  per- 
verted manner.  (Compare  a  piece  of  machinery  with  some 
parts  missing,  some  parts  worn  out,  some  parts  geared 
wrong.) 

Besides  these  grades  of  mental  deficiency  certain  clinical 
types  exist,  amounting  perhaps,  taken  all  together,  to  about 
15  per  cent  of  all  cases  of  amentia.  Such  are  the  microceph- 
alic, the  mongoHan,  the  hydrocephahc,  the  cretin,  each  of 
which  may  be  found  in  different  degrees  and  which  will  be 
described  in  its  proper  place. 

^  Tredgold,  Mental  Deficiency,  p.  2. 


322  Psychology  of  Childhood 

Physical  characteristics.  —  The  characteristics  of  aments 
in  general  may  be  considered  from  the  physical  and  mental 
What  are  standpoints.  Physically  there  is  among  them  a 
the  physical  greater  prevalence  of  ''  stigmata  of  degeneration  " 
isticsof  than  among  children  higher  in  the  scale  of  intelh- 
aments?  gencc ;  that  is,  they  show  more  anomahes  per  in- 
dividual than  do  their  more  favored  companions.  This  does 
not  mean  that  any  are  necessarily  present,  nor  that  their  pos- 
session indicates  amentia.  These  stigmata  include  defects 
of  the  palate,  delayed  and  bad  dentition,  badly  shaped  ears, 
nose,  lips,  a  peculiar  tongue  with  considerable  slavering;  a 
malformed  skull,  anomalies  of  the  genital  organs,  certain  skin 
secretions,  poor  circulation,  stunted  growth.  Of  the  special 
types,  the  microcephaHc  has  a  specially  small,  "  sugar-loaf  " 
head  and  generally  small  stature.  The  hydrocephalic  has 
usually  a  much  enlarged  skull.  The  mongolian  is  small,  has 
a  small  skull,  flattened  face  with  slanting  eyes  —  hence  the 
name  —  a  large,  fissured  tongue,  broad,  clumsy  feet  and  hands 
with  generally  a  small,  incurved  little  finger.  The  cretin 
is  greatly  dwarfed,  with  short,  bowed  legs,  badly  formed  ex- 
tremities, a  protuberant  belly,  a  short,  thick  neck,  large  head, 
eyes  wide  apart,  a  flat  nose,  large,  coarse  tongue,  swollen  eye- 
lids, coarse  hair,  dry,  rough  skin.  The  pecuHar  appearance 
of  these  special  types  should  not  make  us  forget  that  from 
80  per  cent  to  90  per  cent  of  all  cases  of  amentia  belong  to  no 
special  type,  and  may  have  no  distinguishing  physical  signs. 
Paralysis  may  complicate  the  condition,  affecting  the  growth 
of  the  limbs  on  one  side;  epilepsy  is  another  frequent  con- 
comitant. 

Mental  characteristics.  —  The  mental  ability  of  aments  may 
What  are  be  affected  by  special  sense  defects;  even  if  not, 
the  mental     their  sense  discrimination  is  usually  weak.     On  the 

character-  .  .  ,  . 

isticsof  expressive  side,  we  may  notice  poor  motor  coordi- 
amentia  ?  nation,  poor  control  of  bladder  and  bowels,  delayed 
walking,  instability  of  emotions  contrasting  with  almost  no 


Exceptional  Children  323 

excitability,  possibly  some  degenerate  habits  arising  from  per- 
verted instincts  such  as  masturbation,  eating  filth.  Talking 
is  frequently  delayed,  and  a  speech  defect  is  common,  known 
as  ''  lalling  ";  this  involves  difficulty  in  enunciating  certain 
consonants,  particularly  th,  r,  y,  s,  g,  ng,  sh,  k,  v,  1.  Con- 
sidering the  higher  mental  processes  they  are  sluggish  in  their 
thinking,  are  unduly  suggestible,  have  a  poor  memory  span, 
have  little  creative  imagination.  They  are  so  inferior  in  as- 
sociative processes  that  they  form  habits,  or  learn,  very  slowly. 
Their  reasoning  is  almost  non-existent,  since  they  are  scarcely 
able  to  analyze  or  to  form  and  to  react  to  abstractions.  They 
have  scant  power  of  attention.  Of  these  characteristics,  the 
last  few  named  are  the  most  significant  for  the  teacher 
to  remember.  Naturally  these  abilities  are  present,  or 
rather  absent,  in  varying  degrees,  as  we  descend  the  steps 
of  the  scale. 

Cause.  —  Amentia  results,  in  about  90  per  cent  of  all  cases, 
from  hereditary  influences.  Of  these,  by  far  the  largest  factor 
is  some  disease  of  the  nervous  system;  other  less  what  causes 
important  factors  are  alcoholism  and  syphilis.  The  *^^^^^^<^^ 
other  10  per  cent  of  cases  result  from  environmental  influences, 
such  as  some  disease,  or  alcoholism  of  the  mother  during  preg- 
nancy, injuries  received  to  the  head  before,  during  or  after 
birth,  certain  toxic  poisons  resulting  from  infectious  diseases, 
defective  gland  action  affecting  nutrition.  More  specifically, 
the  great  majority  of  cases  of  simple  amentia  of  whatever 
degree  are  due  to  neuropathic  taint,  as  is  also  microcephaly, 
while  the  mongolian  type  is  due  possibly  to  syphilis,  possibly 
to  *'  morbid  heredity  and  uterine  exhaustion."  ^  These  may 
be  called  primary  amentia.  Of  secondary  amentia,  due  to 
extrinsic  conditions,  paralysis  may  be  produced  by  lesions  due 
to  hemorrhage,  cysts  and  tumors  pressing  on  the  brain.  Gen- 
eral amentia,  hydrocephaly,  or  paralysis  may  result  from 
poisons  following  diseases  such  as  diphtheria,  syphihs,  or 
1  Tredgold,  Mental  Deficiency,  p.  184. 


224  Psychology  of  Childhood 

meningitis.  Cretinism  is  due  to  a  lack  of  the  secretions  of 
the  thyroid  gland.  Other  conditions,  such  as  rickets,  tuber- 
culosis, deprivation  of  the  senses,  may  compHcate  amentia, 
but  it  is  doubtful  if  they  can  cause  it.  Among  other  doubtful 
causes  are  tuberculosis  of  the  parents,  great  discrepancy  in 
the  age  of  the  parents  or  advanced  age,  consanguinity,  though 
these  are  often  mentioned  as  possible  causes. 

Diagnosis,  who  makes  it  ?  —  The  diagnosis  of  backward- 
ness or  feeble-mindedness  is  a  matter  for  the  joint  action  of  the 
Who  should  teacher,  the  social  worker,  the  physician,  and  the 
diagnose  psychologist.  ,With  the  discovery  of  the  lowest 
amentia?  (jegrees  of  amentia,  and  with  the  special  types, 
the  teacher  has  commonly  nothing  to  do.  ^ley  are  the  con- 
cern chiefly  of  the  doctor  and  of  the  ins titutSfcj  which  they 
are  sent.  It  is  with  the  retarded  and  dull  pupils,  O^ii^  bprder- 
line  cases,"  the  high-  and  middle-grade  morons  that  thSIR^cher 
will  come  in  contact.  It  is  her  business  to  watch  for  and  re- 
port cases  of  children  two  or  three  years  older  than  the  normal 
age  for  the  grade  in  which  they  are  working,  and  to  send  them 
to  the  proper  expert  for  examination.  General  intelligence 
tests  are  now  being  devised  which  may  be  given  to  whole 
classes  simultaneously  and  serve  as  a  rough  sieve  to  separate 
the  less  fit  from  the  rest.  The  social  worker  might  likewise 
discover  cases  of  children  several  years  behind  their  fellows 
in  ability,  but  her  chief  work  is  to  investigate  for  environmental 
conditions  which  may  help  the  physician  in  his  diagnosis  or 
the  psychologist  in  his  prescription  of  treatment.  It  is  the 
physician's  business  to  make  a  thorough  physical  examina- 
tion of  the  selected  cases,  and  to  get  the  family  —  heredity 
—  history  and  the  personal  history  of  injuries,  diseases, 
dates  of  development,  and  so  forth,  to  date.  The  psychol- 
ogist's business  is  to  examine  the  school  record  of  the 
selected  cases  to  date,  and  to  make  a  mental  examination. 
Upon  the  combined  results  of  all  these  investigations  the 
diagnosis  depends,  but  the  final  word  should  be  left  to  the 


Exceptional  Children  325 

clinical  psychologist,  the  problem  lying  mainly  in  the  field 
of  psychology.^ 

HOW  DIAGNOSIS  IS  MADE.  —  The  method  of  mental  examina- 
tion has  been  fairly  well  standardized.     It  involves  giving  a 
series  of  tests  and  rating  the  performance  of  the  ofwhat 
child  on  an  objective  scale.     One  such  is  known  as  does  the 
the  Yerkes  Point  Scale.     It  consists  of  twenty  tests,  amination 
weighted  in  the  scoring,  with  a  possible  maximum  consist? 
score  of  100.     The  average  rating  obtained    by   5-year-old 
normal  children  is  22  or  more,  by  8-year-olds  is  39+,  by  12- 
year-olds  is  74  +  ,  and  so  on.     The  score  obtained  by  any 
child  tested  divided  by  the  norm  for  his  age  gives  what  is  called 
the  *'  coefficient^  intellectual  abihty  " ;    thus  a  score  of  6 
obtained  by  ^B^ff  between  four  and  five  years  of  age  divided 
by  15,  whjdl^  the  normal  score  for  that  age,  gives  a  coefficient 
of  .40.  ^rne  "  mental  age  "  is  determined  by  finding  the  age 
for  which  the  obtained  score  is  the  norm.     Thus  any  child 
of  whatever  age  scoring  at  39  has  a  mental  age  of  &. 

A  better  known  scale  is  that  devised  by  Binet,  published 
in  1905,  revised  by  Goddard  in  1908,  by  Binet  in  191 1,  by 
Terman  in  191 6.  In  this  the  various  tests  are  arranged  by 
age  groups,  each  group  representing  what  75  per  cent  of  nor- 
mal children  can  do  at  that  age.  Thus,  the  VIII  group  con- 
sists of  six  tests  which  three  fourths  of  normal  8 -year-old 
children  can  pass.  The  groups  range  in  difficulty  from 
what  a  3-year-old  can  do  through  a  14-year-old  level  to 
"  average  adult  "  and  "  superior  adult."  Each  test  in  each 
age  group  is  credited  with  so  many  points  in  months.  In 
applying  this  series,  a  child  of  eight  who  was  so  scored  that 
his  points  added  up  to  the  equivalent  of  VIII,  would  be  rated 

1  At  present,  1917-1918,  the  medical  profession  seem  anxious  to  substitute 
their  work  for  the  psychologists'  rather  than  to  cooperate.  However,  the 
medical  schools  offer  no  training  that  fits  a  doctor  for  expert  work  in  mental 
diagnosis  any  more  than  a  general  college  course  fits  a  layman  for  the  same 
work,  or  psychology  training  fits  any  one  for  doing  the  doctor's  work.  Feeble 
body  functioning  is  for  one  expert,  feeble  mind  functioning  for  the  other. 


326  Psychology  of  Childhood 

"  at  age.'*  His  VIII  (or  mental  age)  being  divided  by  his 
chronological  age  8,  gives  the  ''  intelligence  quotient  "  —  or 
I.Q.,  as  it  is  commonly  called  —  of  100.  A  child  of  8  so 
scored  that  his  points  added  to  VI  is  below  age.  He  is  of 
mental  age  6  and  his  I.Q.  (6  -^  8)  is  75.  Children  whose  I.Q. 
ranges  from  90  to  no  are  considered  normal;  if  the  I.Q. 
ranges  from  80  to  90  they  are  diagnosed  as  dull,  if  from  70  to 
?^o  they  are  border-line  cases.  The  I.Q.  of  morons  Hes  from 
50  to  70,  of  imbeciles  from  20  or  25  to  50,  of  idiots  below  20 
or  25.  We  may  also  speak  of  morons  having  a  "■  mental  age  " 
of  from  7  to  11;  that  is,  they  never  test  higher  than  XI  and 
may  test  as  low  as  VII.  Imbeciles  have  a  mental  age  of  from 
3  to  7,  and  idiots  below  3  years. 

Treatment.  —  The  treatment  of  subnormal  children  depends 

partly  on  whether  they  belong  to  any  special  type,  partly  on 

the  degree  of  amentia  found  or  the  lowness  of  the 

done  for        I-Q-     Good  hygienic  conditions  may  check  tenden- 

subnormai     (.j^g  ^q  disease  due  to  poor  circulation  and  weak 

children?  ...  /-,       •  .r        i  i 

digestion.  Cretins,  if  taken  very  young,  can  be 
considerably  improved  by  doses  of  extract  of  the  thyroid  gland 
systematically  and  permanently  administered.  A  complica- 
tion of  epilepsy  or  paralysis  obviously  indicates  specific  treat- 
ment. For  some,  tumors  may  be  removed,  or  other  surgical 
measures  employed.  Of  these,  a  social  safeguard  rather  than 
a  personal  remedy  is  that  of  asexualization.  This  is  advisable 
from  the  eugenics  point  of  view,  since  aments  have  less  control 
of  their  instincts  than  normal  people,  are  prolific,  and  are 
almost  certain  to  produce  offspring  with  their  own  deficiency.^ 
Considering  aments  especially,  idiots  require  constant  physi- 
cal care ;  they  are  scarcely  improvable  in  any  way  but  may 
sometimes  be  trained  to  cleanly  habits.  Imbeciles  can  ac- 
quire habits  of  care  of  the  body,  and  can  learn  to  do  simple 
industrial  work  under  permanent,  close  supervision.  Morons 
can  benefit  by  manual  training  and  by  intellectual  as  well ;  but 
^  In  1 9 14  twelve  states  had  definite  laws  on  this  point. 


Exceptional  Children  327 

we  must  remember  that  they  can  never  be  raised  by  training 
to  the  level  of  normal  mentality  which  has  been  denied  them 
by  heredity.  It  is  useless  to  try  to  teach  them  along  with 
normal  children ;  the  pace  at  which  they  learn,  the  methods 
necessary,  and  the  selected  subject  matter  advisable  make  it 
imperative  that  they  should  be  separated  from  the  regular 
school  classes  and  taught  by  themselves.  This  last  remark 
appHes  likewise  to  the  border-line  cases  and  to  the  backward 
and  dull.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  the  merely 
backward  can  be  so  helped  by  individual  attention  in  special 
classes  that  they  may  be  expected  to  return  to  the  regular 
school  grade  and  profit  by  the  instruction  there.  The  dull  will 
never  catch  up  to  the  brighter  children,  and  whether  taught 
in  special  or  in  regular  classes  may  be  expected  to  be  per- 
manently "  retarded  "  and  to  drop  out  of  school  at  about  the 
grade  designed  for  the  mental  age  of  twelve. 

Retarded  development.  —  From  30  to  35  per  cent  of  school 
children  are  retarded  one  or  more  years,  more  boys  than  girls. 
The  fact  of  being  retarded,  that  is,  being  over  age  for  the  grade 
where  found,  might  be  due  to  extraneous  causes  such  as  foreign 
parentage,  to  having  entered  school  late,  to  truancy,  to  much 
moving  about  from  one  school  district  to  another,  to  periods 
of  illness,  or  it  might  be  due  to  real  dullness.  Opportunity  to 
make  up  for  lost  time  is  what  the  temporarily  retarded  chiefly 
need,  and  this  can  best  be  gained  by  individual  attention  in 
extra,  supervised  study  periods  or  in  the  small,  special  class. 
For  the  permanently  retarded,  those  of  I.Q.  70  to  90,  a  peda- 
gogical and  psychological  examination  usually  reveals  special 
inaptitudes  which  will  indicate  methods  of  training.  In 
general  their  small  ability  to  think  abstractly  or  to  use  creative 
imagination  necessitates  a  somewhat  different  curriculum 
from  that  of  the  ordmary  school,  as  well  as  a  slower  rate  of 
progress.  Omission  of  abstract  arithmetic  and  grammar, 
emphasis  on  concrete  facts,  sense-training,  and  industrial  work 
seem  to  be  indicated.    Wholesome  amusements  should  be 


328  Psychology  of  Childhood 

provided  as  well  as  opportunity  to  learn  a  trade.  Suggestion 
and  imitation  should  be  the  chief  methods  employed,  with 
simple,  prompt  rewards  for  efforts  and  for  work  carefully 
done.  After  leaving  school  such  children  need  sympathetic 
social  supervision. 

Supernormal  mentality.  Characteristics.  —  Turning  now 
to  exceptional  children  who  diverge  from  the  norm  on  the 
What  are  P^^^  ^^^^'  ^^  ^^^  degrees  of  ability  ranging  from 
the  char-  the  bright  up  to  the  genius.  There  are  also  special 
of^mentaUy  ^ypes,  such  as  those  with  a  gift  along  some  one  line, 
superior  for  instance  mathematics,  painting,  mechanical 
children?  ingenuity,  music,  and  the  like,  which  may  coexist 
with  mediocrity,  superiority  or  even  inferiority  in  general 
intelligence.  Of  these  special  gifts  musical  ability  shows  at 
a  very  early  age  as  a  rule,  often  before  six  years  old,  and 
artistic  ability  in  at  least  the  first  decade.  General  mental 
superiority  may,  or  may  not,  show  itself  in  children  in  con- 
nection with  the  usual  subjects  in  the  curriculum.  Only 
about  4  per  cent  of  children  seem  to  be  "  advanced  "  in  school ; 
that  is,  younger  by  two  years  than  the  normal  age  for  the  grade 
where  found,  though  this  may  be  in  part  due  to  our  negligence 
in  proper  grading.  Havelock  Ellis  has  pointed  out  that  ^ 
the  child  destined  to  be  eminent  intellectually  may  show  only 
average  ability  in  school  while  he  is  simultaneously  preoccu- 
pied with  his  own  lines  of  thought ;  or  he  may  appear  simply 
as  an  extraordinarily  active  child  physically. 

Precocity,  meaning  rapid  mental  growth,  does  not,  contrary 
to  popular  opinion,  argue  unstable  mental  health,  nor 
physical  delicacy,  nor  early  degeneration.  By  itself,  it  is 
rather  a  sign  of  ultimate  superior  attainment.  Of  course, 
where  a  neuropathic  taint  is  present  there  may  come  a  break- 
down, accelerated  by  the  pressure  of  longer  hours  of  school 
work,  and  harder  tasks,  but  the  nervous  instability  is  not  a 
concomitant  of  mental  superiority  any  more  than  it  is  of  mental 

*  A  Study  of  British  Genius,  p.  137. 


Exceptional  Children  329 

inferiority ;  it  is  a  separate  factor  to  which  the  credit  should  be 
given  in  explaining  cases  of  degeneration.  As  a  matter  of 
record,  children  who  are  advanced  in  school  work  are  more 
often  than  not  taller  and  heavier  than  the  average  for  their 
age,  maintain  their  lead,  finish  the  school  course  at  an  earlier 
age  than  usual,  and  are  by  no  means  found  occupying  low 
stations  in  life.  We  ought  to  be  able  to  go  on  and  say  they 
are  always  found  to  achieve  eminence  in  adult  life ;  however, 
statistics  are  lacking  here.  We  can  reverse  the  statement  and 
state  that  eminent  adults  have  usually  been  precocious  as 
children.  It  is  a  matter  of  common  observation  that  the 
superior  children  are  generally  bright,  attractive,  alert,  '*  the 
kind  one  would  like  to  adopt." 

Cause.  —  The  cause  of  exceptional  mental  ability  is,  in 
ninety  per  cent  of  the  cases,  superior  hereditary  endowment.^ 
Environment  may  develop  wisely  what  is  there,  or, 
more   tragically,   may  work  in  conjunction  with  duces 
moral  traits  of  laziness  and  the  like  so  as  to  dis-  ^^7'^ff"' 

,         .  penority? 

courage  full  development,  but  it  cannot  create  what 
is  not  originally  present.  Some  few  advanced  children  may 
owe  their  position  in  school  to  environmental  factors  such  as 
having  begun  school  at  an  early  age,  having  used  spare  time 
and  vacations  for  tutoring  so  that  added  to  intensive  study 
they  have  had  a  continuous  and  rapid  school  progress.  The 
advancement  in  these  cases  does  not  argue  unusual  intelli- 
gence, only  unusual  opportunity,  and  is  not  prophetic  of  ex- 
ceptional abiHty  in  adult  Hfe.  It  may  be  that  the  failure  of 
such  to  attain  eminence  as  adults  has  strengthened  the  falla- 
cious opinion  spoken  of  above  that  "  precocious  "  children  are 
apt  to  turn  out  stupid  afterwards. 

Diagnosis.  —  The  discovery  of  gifted  children  is  commonly 

left  to  chance.    We  are  sadly  in  need  of  specially  devised  tests 

for  special  aptitudes  which  shall  catch  our  talented  children 

young  enough  to  prevent  their  being  hindered  by  training 

1  See  Chapter  I  on  this  point. 


2^o  Psychology  of  Childhood 

suited  to  mediocrity  given  by  teachers  of  only  moderate  in- 
sight. Also,  we  need  to  prevent  them  forming  habits  of 
idleness,  slack  effort,  listless  attention  while  per- 
^up'ert^-  forming  tasks  too  easy  for  them.  As  an  example 
ity  be  q{  ^hat  might  be  done,  but  is  not  done,  it  is  in- 

diagnose  teresting  to  note  that  Kerschensteiner  happened 
to  give  drawing  tests  to  the  school  children  of  Munich,  by 
which  it  was  apparent  that  a  certain  few  possessed  unusual 
artistic  ability.  As  a  result  of  this  finding,  arrangements 
were  made  by  which  those  children  might  receive  special 
training  in  art  from  experts  in  the  same  line.  But  had  it 
not  been  for  Kerschensteiner  and  his  research  work,  those 
special  aptitudes  would  have  gone  unprovided  for.  Sim- 
ilarly for  other  gifts.  Unless  the  parents  are  aware  of  them 
and  are  able  to  allow  time  for  their  development,  it  is 
likely  that  little  opportunity  will  be  afforded  these  excep- 
tional children  to  make  the  best  use  of  their  powers.  Yet 
for  their  own  sakes  and  for  society's  best  good,  we  ought  to 
have  the  means  for  discovering  these  special  talents,  and  to 
apply  such  tests  regularly,  at  least  annually. 

So  far  as  general  superiority  is  concerned,  the  tests  referred 
to  above  which  can  be  given  to  whole  classes  may  weed  out 
the  exceptionally  intelligent  should  such  not  have  manifested 
their  ability  by  the  ordinary  school  ratings.  When  such  are 
found  the  test  scales  already  described  will  give  us  the  mental 
age,  the  coefl5cient  of  intellectual  abihty  or  the  I.Q.  Any  I.Q. 
above  no  indicates  superiority,  above  140  the  *'  near  genius." 
About  I  per  cent  of  children  only  will  reach  or  exceed  an  I.Q. 
of  130,  according  to  Terman.^  It  is  highly  advisable  that 
children  of  high  ability  should  be  early  discovered  and  given 
every  opportunity  possible  for  their  best  development. 

Treatment.  —  When  it  comes  to  the  question  of  how  to 
train  exceptionally  gifted  children,  we  are  yet  very  much  in 
the  dark,  with  only  a  few  scientific  experiments  and  a  great 
*  The  Measurement  of  Intelligence,  p.  78. 


Exceptional  Children  331 

deal  of  personal  opinion  as  a  guide.  Stern  has  been  particu- 
larly interested  in  the  problem,  and  recommends  no  parading 
of  prodigies,  but  rather  scholarships  for  study  in 
special  schools  for  children  with  gifts  in  some  one  bedone}or 
line.  For  the  generally  gifted  he  advocates  a  supernormal 
different  organization  of  school  grading.^  It  is  '^  '  ^^^ 
evident  that  much  further  study,  both  qualitatively  and 
quantitatively,  is  needed  before  we  can  be  other  than  theoretic 
on  the  point.  Probably  a  faster  than  normal  pace  of  study 
is  wise,  with  attention  to  intricate,  abstract  thinking,  the 
stimulation  of  creative  imagination,  opportunities  for  exten- 
sive association-forming.  Probably,  too,  such  children  should 
be  under  the  guidance  of  exceptionally  gifted  instructors  from 
an  early  age.  Obviously,  any  special  aptitude  needs  to  be 
given  full  chance  for  development.  It  is  a  debated  question 
whether  the  ordinary  school  work  should  be  more  intensive  than 
usual,  or  more  extensive,  whether  precocious  children  should  be 
taught  with  others  older  than  they  are  but  of  the  same  mental 
age,  or  segregated  and  given  special  attention.  Other  than  in- 
tellectual superiority  matters  here.  We  do  not  want  to  inter- 
fere with  normal  social  adjustment  by  separating  gifted  children 
from  others,  but  it  is  not  always  well  to  mix  immature  near- 
geniuses  with  adolescent  boys  and  girls  of  average  ability. 

PROVISION  FOR  EXCEPTIONAL  CHILDREN.  —  Many 
kinds  of  special  schools  and  special  classes  exist  for  the  benefit 
of  exceptional  children.  Such  include  schools  for  whatprovi- 
the  Wind,  the  deaf,  the  crippled,  the  epileptic,  the  f^^^'J^p!^ 
nervous,  mental  defectives,  truant  schools,  schools  tional  chil- 
for  incorrigibles,  open-air  schools  for  the  tuber-  ^''^"^ 
culous  or  anaemic,  schools  of  music,  art  schools,  technical 
schools,  classes  for  backward  and  for  gifted  children.^     Of 

^  Supernormal  Children,  J.  Ed.  Psych.,  191 1. 

2  For  comparative  statistics  with  regard  to  these  various  types  the  student 
is  referred  to  governmental  reports,  bulletins  of  the  Bureau  of  Education, 
special  reports  of  the  institutions  of  the  kind  mentioned. 


332  Psychology  of  Childhood 

these,  the  first  two  types  were  among  the  earliest  to  be  estab- 
lished, from  the  manifest  need  for  special  methods ;  provision 
for  open-air  work  and  for  supernormal  children  has  been 
one  of  the  latest  developments. 

So  far  as  amentia  is  concerned,  institutions  for  the  care  of 
idiots  were  long  ago  provided,  sometimes,  however,  in  con- 
nection with  insane  asylums.  Famous  examples  are  the 
Salzburg  school  for  cretins,  the  school  at  Bicetre,  the  Earls- 
wood  asylum,  the  Massachusetts  School  for  Idiots  and  Feeble- 
minded Youth.  In  many  such,  not  only  idiots  but  imbeciles, 
low-  and  middle-grade  morons,  and  high-grade  moral  imbeciles 
are  received.  The  presence  of  these  has  led  to  the  inclusion 
of  formal  instruction  in  some  school  subjects,  by  which,  of 
course,  mere  idiots  could  not  profit.  The  emphasis  is  gen- 
erally on  training  in  industrial  arts,  agricultural  work,  speech 
training,  with  a  minimum  attention  to  the  three  R's,  history, 
and  geography.  The  majority  of  border-line,  dull,  mentally 
sluggish  children  are  almost  never  sent  to  special  institutions. 
Such  are  the  charge  of  teachers  in  the  ordinary  school  system, 
and  merit  special  attention  both  for  their  own  sakes  and  for 
the  social  good.  Classes  for  such  children  have  been  formed 
in  connection  with  the  pubKc  schools  since  compulsory  ele- 
mentary education  laws  have  directed  the  attention  of  admin- 
istrators to  the  need  for  them.  Beginning  in  1867  in  Ger- 
many, the  decade  from  1890  to  1900  saw  many  such  classes 
and  schools  formed  in  France,  England,  and,  more  lately,  in 
the  United  States.  These  classes  receive,  tentatively,  re- 
tarded pupils  from  the  large  adjacent  schools ;  further  testing 
and  training  may  decide  whether  given  individuals  will  re- 
turn to  the  ordinary  school  grades,  or  remain  permanently 
in  special  classes. 

Supernormal  children  have  received  less  careful  attention. 
A  very  common  custom,  and  perhaps  the  least  sensible  in  a 
closely  articulated  graded  system  such  as  prevails  in  the 
United  States,  is  to  allow  them  to  skip  a  grade.     Besides  this. 


1 


Exceptional  Children  333 

there  are  formed  special  classes  in  which  a  faster  pace  is  pos- 
sible than  in  the  ordinary  schoolroom,  so  that  three  years* 
work  may  be  completed  in  two,  or  even  two  in  one.  Various 
systems  of  flexible  grading  are  still  in  the  experimental  stage. 
On,e,  known  as  the  Cambridge  plan,  groups  all  children  into 
slow-moving,  regular,  fast  moving.  Each  set  goes  over  the 
same  ground  but  at  different  speeds,  so  that  the  fast-moving 
group  may  complete  in  four  years  what  it  takes  the  regular 
rate  group  six  years  to  do.  There  is  provision  in  this  plan 
for  transfer  from  one  group  to  another  at  various  points.  The 
Chicago  system  is  very  similar ;  but,  providing  as  it  does  for 
a  threefold  grouping  within  each  grade,  it  is  appHcable  only 
to  large  schools.  Plans  of  segregating  the  brighter  pupils  are 
also  favored,  chiefly  for  those  who  have  reached  a  high  sixth 
grade,  when  by  doing  departmental  work  in  the  next  two 
years  they  are  enabled  to  save  the  first  of  the  four  high 
school  years.  Sometimes  this  plan  is  begun  lower  than  the 
sixth  grade. 

The  next  five  years  or  so  should  see  a  great  development 
in  the  provision  for  supernormal  children  as  we  become  more 
sure  of  the  results  of  the  experimental  gradings  now  in  use. 

Exercises 

I.  Arrange,  if  possible,  to  visit  a  local  institution  for  truants, 
or  for  incorrigibles,  or  for  law-court  cases,  etc.,  and  note  the  follow- 
ing points : 

(a)  What  sort  of  motivation  is  used  for  good  conduct 

Ih)  What  type  of  discipline,  government,  organization  exists. 

(c)  Whether  the  pupils  play  normally. 

id)  What  means  are  provided  for  normal  social  development, 
especially  for  the  adolescents. 

{e)   How  the  pupils  compare  with  others  physically. 

(/)   How  they  compare  in  school  progress. 

Inquire  about  these  facts : 

(a)  What  follow-up  work  is  done  when  the  pupils  leave  the 
institution. 


334  Psychology  of  Childhood 

{b)  What  the  statistics  show  as  to  the  percentage  making 
good  after  they  leave. 

2.  What  types  of  special  schools  exist  in  the  town  where  you 
live? 

3.  What  does  your  State  provide  in  the  way  of  special  institu- 
tions for  exceptional  children  of  any  kind  ? 

4.  If  convenient,  observe  the  expert  administration  of  a  set  of 
mental  tests  to  a  child  of  exceptional  mentahty.  Compare  the 
physical  condition  of  such  child  with  the  normal. 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  Recall  the  facts  of  chapters  VII  and  XIV.  Summarize  what 
physical  troubles  are  more  prevalent  before  twelve  years  old,  — 
in  the  teens. 

2.  Recall  the  facts  stated  in  chapters  IX,  XIII,  and  XV  about 
adolescent  day-dreaming;  compare  with  what  is  said  in  this 
chapter.     What  conclusions  do  you  draw? 

3.  Just  what  should  you  do  if  you  suspect  that  a  child  in  your 
care  is  exceptional  ?  Discuss  this  from  as  many  points  of  view  as 
possible. 

4.  Recall  recommendations  from  the  study  of  eugenics  which 
have  a  bearing  on  the  topic  of  exceptional  children. 

$.  Should  more  time,  energy,  care,  money  be  spent  on  children 
of  subnormal,  or  of  supernormal  intelligence  ?    Why  ? 

References  for  Reading 

Goddard,  FeeUe-mindedness,  Its  Catisesand  Conseqtiences,  chs.  i,  3,  4, 
9,  10. 

Pyle,  The  Examination  of  School  Children. 
Tredgold,  Mental  Deficiency,  chs.  3,  5,  7,  12,  21. 
Dolbear,  Precocious  Children,  Pad.  Sem.,  Vol.  19. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

METHODS  USED  IN  CHILD  PSYCHOLOGY 

CONTENT  DERIVED  FROM  OTHER  KINDS  OF  PSY- 
CHOLOGY.—Since  Child  Study  is  but  one  branch  of  psy- 
chology we  should  expect  to  find  in  it  elements, 
both  of  facts  and  methods,  which  are  common  to  ^^°*°\^. 

'     ,  tne  contri- 

the  other  branches  of  the  science ;  and  so  we  do.  hutions  of 

So  far  as  content  goes,  we  get  from  general  psy-  lynches  of 
chology  our  points  of  departure  in  investigations  psychology 
as  to  the  differences  between  adults  and  children,  'ftofo^y  ?^' 
our  phraseology  and  classifications  in  describing 
the  kinds  and  amounts  of  differences  found.  From  social 
psychology  we  get  facts  about  man's  development  among  his 
fellows  and  his  reactions  to  them  that  help  us  understand 
much  of  the  instinctive  behavior  of  children.  From  animal 
psychology  we  get  knowledge  about  reactions  in  mammals 
and  primates  that  helps  us  realize  truths  not  only  about  in- 
stincts but  also  about  the  learning  processes  of  children.  From 
abnormal  and  pathological  psychology  we  get,  in  addition,  in- 
formation which  assists  in  the  diagnosis  of  backward  and 
feeble-minded  children,  which  indicates  the  line  of  treatment 
for  the  mentally  deranged  adolescent  or  those  in  any  way 
atypical,  and  which  helps  establish  norms  for  the  ordinary 
child  at  different  stages.  The  alKed  sciences  of  anthropology, 
sociology,  and  physiology  also  add  to  our  knowledge  of  the 
development  and  growth  of  children  socially,  industrially, 
spiritually  and  physically,  giving  a  key,  through  the  study  of 
heredity,  to  much  of  the  general  behavior  and  special  apti- 
tudes or  deficiencies  in  any  given  child.     Child  study  in  its 

335 


336  Psychology  of  Childhood 

turn  makes  its  special  contribution  to  educational  psychology : 
since  to  direct  the  kind  of  changes  desired  in  educating  chil- 
dren, or  the  rate  and  method  of  making  such  changes,  it  is 
necessary  to  understand  the  nature  of  the  beings  in  whom  we 
endeavor  to  bring  about  these  changes. 

METHODS  COMMON  TO  OTHER  KINDS  OF  PSY- 
CHOLOGY. Introspection.  —  So  far  as  methods  are  con- 
isintro-  cemed,  since  introspection  is  the  final  court  of  ap- 
spection  a  pg^l  for  many  truths  about  mental  states,  it  is  but 
in  child  natural  to  look  for  it  in  some  form  as  a  method  of 
psychology?  q\^\^  study.  Quite  obviously  this  is  an  imprac- 
ticable method  to  use  directly  with  very  young  children ;  in- 
deed, even  at  ten  years  old  it  is  difficult  to  make  many  under- 
stand and  describe  what  is  wanted.  As  a  derived  method,  we 
find  adults  recounting  childhood  experiences  in  so  graphic  a 
manner  that  the  readers  may  feel  instantly  the  ring  of  truth 
in  the  interpretation,  or  detect  the  exaggerated  strain  for 
effect,  or  revolt  at  the  namby-pamby  didactic  incorporated. 
But  however  interesting  and  true  to  life  these  reminiscent 
accounts  seem  there  is  the  undeniable  inaccuracy  of  memory 
both  in  the  making  of  statements  and  in  the  joyful  acceptance 
of  them.  We  know  how  testimony  is  increasingly  falsified 
by  factors  such  as  lapse  of  time,  the  presence  of  a  desired 
coloring  of  events,  the  mere  repetition  of  a  narrative ;  and  the 
subjective  feel  of  the  early  life  of  even  expert  writers  must 
likewise  be  distorted  by  these  same  facts.  Nevertheless, 
some  authors  who  combine  sympathetic  observation  with 
vivid  memories  of  events  and  emotions  may  produce  tales 
which  have  great  value  in  opening  the  eyes  and  understanding 
of  many  adults  who  are  puzzled  by  children's  conduct  and  who 
have  largely  forgotten  '*  how  things  feel  when  you  are  small." 
Such  books  as  *'  Emmy  Lou,"  ''  Anne  of  Green  Gables,"  ''  Paul 
and  Fiametta,"  ''The  Treasure-Seekers,"  ''Little  Citizens," 
"  Penrod,"  "The  Madness  of  PhiUp,"  "  Phoebe  and  Ernest,' 
"The  Golden  Age,"  "Understood  Betsy,"  not  to  mention 


Methods  used  in  Child  Psychology  337 

hosts  of  others,  may  awaken  not  only  a  responsive  thrill,  but 
a  more  tender  appreciation  of  the  inner  working  of  the  child 
mind.  They  will  always  have  their  place  in  the  reference 
library  recommended  for  parents  and  others  interested  in 
the  study  of  children. 

Reminiscence.  —  Besides  this  literary  form  we  have  definite 
autobiographies  such  as  those  of  Goethe,  De  Quincey,  Tolstoi, 
George  Sand,  Marie  Bashkirtseff,  John  Stuart  Mill,  Mary 
Antin,  and  many  others.  Here  again,  both  the  accuracy  of 
the  facts  and  the  validity  of  the  interpretation  are  open 
to  the  same  criticisms  as  are  expressed  above.  More- 
over, we  feel  that  people  as  exceptional  in  adult  life  as 
these  may  well  have  been  exceptional  as  children,  and  there- 
fore representative  of  only  certain  types  of  childhood.  We 
need  further  introspective  reports  from  still  other  nationali- 
ties—  studies  that  could  be  more  of  a  guide  to  missionaries 
and  teachers  in  foreign  countries,  reconstructionists  after 
the  war,  social  workers  among  the  foreign  population  of  our 
cosmopolitan  cities.  Boys  such  as  Tom  Sawyer,  David  Cop- 
perfield  (Charles  Dickens  largely),  and  Rabindranath  Tagore 
seem  very  far  apart  by  nature  as  well  as  by  nurture. 

Questionnaire.  —  Another  form  of  the  introspective  method 
is  sometimes  seen  when  the  questionnaire  method  is  employed. 
As  late  adolescents  are  frequently  used  as  subjects,  there  is 
a  certain  amount  of  retrospection  as  well  as  introspection. 
These  young  people,  untrained  as  they  are  in  the  method 
necessary,  are  more  prone  to  errors  in  accuracy  than  are 
thoughtful,  observant  adults,  and  are  specially  likely  to  be 
misled  when  reporting  on  whole  sets  of  experiences  in  rather 
general  terms.  As  Thorndike^  points  out,  the  questionnaire 
is  usually  sent  to  special  groups,  in  normal  schools,  for  instance, 
which  are  conveniently  handy  but  do  not  represent  the  gen- 
eral population  by  any  means.  Moreover  from  this  selected 
group,  only  those  interested  and  therefore  probably  biased, 
1  Thoradike,  The  Original  Nature  of  Man,  pp.  29-37. 


338  Psychology  of  Childhood 

may  reply  unless  there  is  compulsion  in  the  matter,  when  the 
very  reluctance  for  the  task  may  bring  about  a  casual,  care- 
less, even  mischievous  response  that  still  further  reduces  the 
reliability  of  the  answers.  The  questions  may  be  so  phrased 
as  to  be  a  strong  suggestive  force.  Further,  of  the  few  who 
do  answer,  scarcely  any  answer  all,  and  many  misunderstand 
some  of  the  questions.  To  offset  these  disadvantages  investi- 
gators have  usually  had  recourse  to  the  supposed  safety  of 
numbers;  but,  again  Thorndike  suggests,  there  is  a  fallacy 
in  concluding  that  ignorance,  even  if  multiplied,  is  anything 
more  than  just  ignorance.  Moreover,  the  investigator,  in 
the  absence  of  any  means  of  verification,  is  left  to  his  probable 
misinterpretation  of  the  replies;  and,  unless  specifically 
trained  as  a  statistician,  may  mislead  the  reader  by  his  pub- 
lished averages,  graphs,  and  other  generalizations. 

In  spite  of  the  enumerated  disadvantages  of  the  question- 
naire method  it  is  frequently  used  both  for  introspective  work, 
as  here  indicated,  and  for  simpler  replies  of  fact  from  all  sorts 
of  people.  Examples  of  this  method  of  studying  children  are 
to  be  found  in  great  plenty  in  the  earlier  numbers  of  the  Peda- 
gogical Seminary,  and  include  such  topics  as  the  collecting 
instinct,  adolescent  ambitions,  gangs,  conversion  experiences, 
doll-play,  motor  ability,  ownership,  the  teacher's  influence, 
interests  in  reading,  exceptional  children,  imagination,  moral 
influences,  ideals  etc.,  etc.  It  is  perhaps  the  method  that  first 
occurs  to  persons  who  are  in  quest  of  information ;  for  it  seems 
so  simple  to  interrogate  people  directly,  so  praiseworthy  to 
ask  large  numbers  of  them,  so  valuable  to  employ  printed 
forms.  Its  function,  if  carefully  used  so  as  to  minimize  the 
causes  of  error  as  stated  above,  is  to  give  us  a  rough  trip  over 
the  ground,  so  to  speak,  with  impressionistic  reports  by  the 
guide,  which  may  suggest  the  aims  and  methods  of  the  later, 
more  careful,  measured  survey. 

Observation.  Free  activity  or  directed  response.  —  Besides 
introspection  as  a  rather  doubtful  method  of  child  study  we 


Methods  used  in  Child  Psychology  339 

have,  of  course,  observation  carried  on  in  various  ways.  There 
is  first  of  all  the  unostentatious  observation  of  one  child  or 
many  during  free  activities.  Thus  we  may  "  take  what  other 
X  under  observation  "  for  a  few  weeks  or  months  methods  are 
for  purposes  of  diagnosis  of  moral  tendencies  or  "''''^^'^^ 
nervous  condition.  We  set  the  child  no  definite  task,  hold 
no  prearranged  conversation,  but  watch  and  record  all  that 
seems  pertinent  to  our  purpose.  Similarly  we  may  observe 
children  of  a  given  age  or  neighborhood  at  play,  or  watch  their 
behavior  in  a  pubUc  Ubrary,  at  the  circus,  when  in  certain 
new  situations.  Data  secured  by  such  means  will  be  definite 
enough  for  statistical  treatment  if  the  purpose  of  the  observa- 
tion has  been  clearly  formulated  and  analyzed.  A  study  of 
this  type  is  Sisson's  account  of  the  playground  activities  of 
29  kindergarten  children.^  Another  is  Hall's  ''  Story  of  a  Sand- 
pile."^  In  contrast  to  this  we  have  a  form  of  observation  which 
seeks  for  some  definite  expression  from  the  child  or  group,  it 
may  be  in  the  form  of  a  drawing,  or  a  composition,  or  simple 
.answers  to  questions.  Of  this  type  is  Hall's  ^  work  to  deter- 
mine the  contents  of  children's  minds  when  they  enter  school, 
Binet's^  work  with  his  young  daughters  to  determine  the 
mental  type  of  each,  Stern's  work  ^  with  the  report  test,  and 
so  on. 

Extensive  or  intensive.  —  Observation  may  also  be  classified 
as  intensive  or  extensive.  The  first  concentrates  on  one  child 
for  a  considerable  period  of  time  either  to  get  an  idea  of  the 
general  development  of  the  period,  as  Preyer's,^  Darwin's,'^ 
Shinn's  ^  studies  of  infants,  or  to  get  data  on  one  specific 
topic,  such  as  Whipple's  ^  study  of  the  vocabulary  of  a  three- 

^  Bames,  Studies  in  Education, 

2  See  Aspects  of  Child  Life  and  Education.  '  i^- 

*  L'Observateur  et  I'imaginatif.     A.  P.,  1900,  Vol.  9. 

6  Stem,  Zur  Psych,  d.  Aussage. 
«  Preyer,  The  Infant  Mind. 

7  Darwin,  The  Expression  of  the  Emotions  in  Man  and  Animals. 

8  Shinn,  The  Biography  of  a  Baby.  »  Ped.  Sem.,  Vol.  16. 


24©  Psychology  of  Childhood 

year-old.  In  contrast  to  this  we  have  extensive  observation 
of  large  masses  of  children  in  which  we  get  numbers  of  facts 
about  physical  standards  such  as  lung  capacity,  percentage 
suffering  from  bad  teeth  or  impaired  vision.  Or  it  may  be 
about  mental  abilities,  such  as  the  possible  correlations  of 
ability  in  languages  and  mathematics,  or  the  percentage 
of  promotions.  Simple  examinations  and  measurement  of  con- 
ditions foimd,  the  use  of  school  grades  and  census  reports 
—  such  are  the  data  used  here  rather  than  any  direct  test. 

Experiment.  Qualitative  or  quantitative.  —  An  increasingly 
frequent  form  of  observation  is  the  definite  experiment,  where 
What  forms  Conditions  are  controlled  in  advance,  special  tests 
mayexperi-  devised,  themselves  tested  and  refined  and  used 
mentstake?  pgj-j^^pg  ^q  estabUsh  norms,  or  to  diagnose  a  special 
case,  or  to  measure  results  of  teaching.  These  may  be  mainly 
qualitative,  as  in  Binet's  ^  work  on  the  description  test,  where 
with  simple  directions,  children's  compositions  about  an 
object  placed  before  them  are  examined,  compared,  graded 
and  classified  according  to  the  type  of  person  revealed.  Often 
we  have  a  mixture  of  quaHtative  and  quantitative  results  as 
in  a  test  for  memory  of  ideas.  Sometimes  it  is  mainly  quan- 
titative as  in  a  memory  span  test.  The  observation  may, 
further,  be  directed  to  the  measurement  directly,  such  as 
getting  a  work  curve  for  some  muscular  act,  or  in  testing 
rapidity  of  adding,  range  of  attention,  transfer  of  training. 
Again,  the  tests  may  be  used  as  an  indirect  measure  of  some 
totally  different  factor  such  as  the  influence  of  temperature, 
ventilation,  or  the  weather  on  performance,  or  to  determine 
the  fraternal  resemblance  of  twins.  Rightly  to  administer 
such  tests  and  to  treat  the  data  so  secured  requires  special 
training.  The  ordinary  teacher  may  be  asked  to  assist,  per- 
haps, in  some  simple  procedure,  or  to  cooperate  when  some 
widespread  Work  Commission  is  at  work  in  many  places 
simultaneously ;  but  she  should  not  attempt  independent  re- 
*  Binet,  Psychologic  individuelle.     A.  P.,  Vol.  3. 


Methods  used  in  Child  Psychology  341 

search  in  this  Hne  without  being  well  versed  and  drilled  in 
the  necessary  technique  of  test-giving.  As  Myers  ^  says :  "  I 
want  to  protest  as  strongly  as  I  can  against  the  notion  that 
any  useful  purpose  can  be  served,  so  far  as  psychology  is  con- 
cerned, by  collecting  masses  of  psychological  data  with  the 
help  of  an  army  of  untrained  observers.  .  .  .  Nothing  .  .  .  can 
be  more  dangerous  or  false  than  this  idea  that  the  untrust- 
worthiness  of  crude  methods  diminishes  as  the  number  of 
observers  increases." 

And  again  Rusk :  ^  "  Doubtless  teachers  will  have  but  few 
opportunities  of  accomplishing  original  research  work  in  Ex- 
perimental Education.  This  requires  a  training  which  cannot 
form  part  of  the  ordinary  professional  course,  and  the  time 
demanded  by  research  work  can  hardly  be  given  by  one  en- 
gaged in  the  routine  duties  of  a  teacher." 

Tests  and  scales.     Purpose  oj  scales.  —  Two  special  forms 
of  tests  are  at  present  interesting  to  those  who  deal  with  chil- 
dren.    One  is  the  recent  development  of  various  with  what 
scales  by  which  to  measure  ability  and  progress.  «fa^^« 

rr^.  .  ,  .„        .1.  111     shoulda 

The  up-to-date  teacher  will  utihze  such  standard-  teacher  be 
ized  procedures  as  the  Courtis  Tests,  the  Stone  /«^»''a''? 
Tests,  and  the  Woody  Tests  for  measuring  their  class  achieve- 
ments in  arithmetic,  the  Handwriting  Scale  devised  by  Thorn- 
dike,  the  Ayres  Spelling  Scale,  the  Hillegas  Composition  Scale, 
the  Harvard-Newton  Scale,  the  Kansas  Silent  Reading  Test, 
Thorndike's  reading,  vocabulary,  and  drawing  scales,  the 
Trabue  Language  Scale,  and  others  that  are  being  arranged.^ 
By  the  application  of  tests  such  as  these  we  can  discover 

1  C.  S.  Myers,  The  Pitfalls  of  Mental  Tests. 

2  Rusk,  Introduction  to  Experimental  Education. 

s  Courtis  Tests,  Series  B.     Courtis,  Detroit,  Mich. 

Ayres  Spelling  Scale.     Russell  Sage  Foundation  Publications,  New  York. 

Kansas  Silent  Reading  Test.     State  Normal  School,  Emporia,  Kansas. 

Harvard-Newton  Scale  for  the  Measurement  of  English  Composition. 
Harvard  Univ.  Press. 

Arithmetic  Scales.  Clifford  Woody.  This  and  the  rest  published  by 
Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  New  York  City. 


^42  Psychology  of  Childhood 

the  kind  and  amount  of  improvement  brought  about  in  a 
group  after  a  given  period  of  teaching,  and  thus  be  in  a  posi- 
tion to  judge  whether  or  not  our  methods  of  instruction  need 
overhauling.  We  can  also  rate  children  by  a  fixed  standard 
rather  than  by  one  peculiar  to  the  teacher,  the  school,  the 
neighborhood  or  the  part  of  the  country.  Comparisons  of 
racial  differences  will  be  more  objective  along  these  lines,  also. 
The  scales  are  in  such  form  that  any  teacher  can  speedily  get 
the  knowledge  of  how  to  employ  them. 

The  other  well-known  tests  are  the  Binet-Simon  ^  mental 
age  tests,  the  less  familiar  Yerkes^  point-scale,  and  the 
Pintner  and  Paterson^  tests. 

Training  in  administering  tests.  —  Only  those  persons  who 
have  been  trained  to  administer  these  should  undertake  to 

test  children  for  any  ulterior  purpose.  Of  late,  a 
administer  number  of  enthusiasts  have  been  at  large  in  the 
the  mental     country  "  doing  Binets.'^    If  this  were  for  their 

own  experience  that  might  not  be  so  bad;  but 
since  physicians,  immigration  authorities,  judges,  and  others 
have  occasion  to  utilize  the  results  of  this  form  of  work  and 
on  the  basis  of  the  diagnosis  render  decisions  that  may  affect 
the  whole  future  of  the  individual  tested,  it  presents  a  grave 
social  danger.  It  is  sheer  charlatanism  for  a  college  or  normal 
school  graduate  who  has  read  a  book  on  the  tests  and  seen  a 
subject  tested,  to  set  up  as  an  expert  in  this  line.  No  one 
would  dream  of  sending  children  to  a  quack  dentist  whose 

Standardized  Reasoning  Tests  in  Arithmetic  and  How  to  Utilize  Them. 
Cliff  W.  Stone. 

Drawing  Scale  for  Grades  $  to  8.     E.  L.  Thomdike. 

Nassau  County  Supplement  to  the  Hillegas  Scale.     M.  R.  Trabue. 

Handwriting  Scale  from  Grades  5  to  8.     E.  L.  Thorndike. 

Language  Scales.    M.  R.  Trabue.     8  scales. 

Improved  Scale  for  Measuring  the  Understanding  of  Sentences:  Scale 
Alpha  2,  parts  i  and  2.     E.  L.  Thomdike. 

Improved  Scales  for  Word  Knowledge  or  Visual  Vocabulary.  E.  L.  Thorn- 
dike  Scale  A2  and  Scale  B. 

^  Stanford  Revision  of  the  Binet-Simon  Intelligence  Scale.    Terman. 

« A  Point  Scale  for  Measuring  Mental  Ability.  Yerkes,  Bridges,  and  Hardwick. 

•  A  Scale  of  Performance  Tests.     Pintner  and  Paterson. 


Methods  used  in  Child  Psychology  343 

sole  training  had  consisted  of  reading  a  little  about  dentistry 
and  in  watching  a  few  processes  of  the  profession ;  why  then 
should  children  be  sent  to  a  quack  psychologist  whose  prep- 
aration is  equally  scanty  ?  Again,  just  as  in  other  professions, 
say  medicine,  a  person  is  expected  to  take  first  a  general 
course,  two  years  of  college  work  at  least,  then  to  train  for 
professional  work,  lastly  to  specialize  in  some  particular 
branch  of  that,  say  throat  and  ear  work ;  so  one  who  aspires 
to  be  a  clinical  psychologist  should  take  first  a  general  higher 
education,  then  a  thorough  course  in  the  general  field  of  psy- 
cfiology,  descriptive,  pathological,  experimental,  educational ; 
and  only  then  specialize  as  a  worker  in  the  clinic.  Even  so, 
such  an  expert  needs  to  work  in  close  touch  with  a  psychiatrist, 
since  the  level  of  mental  ability  is  not  an  efficient  index  to 
many  forms  of  mental  trouble.  Similarly,  to  use  the  elaborate 
statistical  method  which  is  necessary  to  deal  adequately  with 
the  facts  collected  in  experimental  pedagogy  means  not  only 
the  devotion  of  more  time  to  it  than  the  teacher  engaged  in 
routine  duties  can  afford,  but  also  a  very  thorough,  intensive 
preparation. 

Such  are  the  methods  of  child  psychology,  which  serve  its 
purpose  of  amassing  information  about  children's  natures  as 
distinct  from  adults'.  Its  scope  may  be  widened  to  include 
studies  of  child  life  on  the  physical  side  in  connection  with 
eugenics,  infant  mortality,  tuberculosis,  and  the  like ;  on  the 
social  side  in  connection  with  housing  conditions,  delinquency, 
dependency,  child  labor.  Its  main  contribution  is  to  the  ap- 
pHed  psychology  of  child-training  and  methods  of  instruction ; 
in  short,  to  the  science  and  art  of  education. 

Exercises 

1.  Extend  the  list  of  works  of  fiction  given  in  the  early  part  of 
this  chapter.    Add  author  and  publisher. 

2.  Look  back  over  the  exercises  suggested  in  this  book.  Under 
which  type  of  child  study  would  fall  the  various  things  you  have 
been  asked  to  do? 


344 


Psychology  of  Childhood 


3.  Go  through  the  footnote  references  in  this  book  to  different 
studies  made  of  childhood.     Classify  them  as  above. 

4.  Go  through  the  list  of  authors  given  below.  Check  off  those 
you  know.  Add  titles  of  papers  or  books  they  have  written  that 
have  to  do  with  child  psychology. 

5.  Verify  your  additions.  Look  up  from  any  good  catalogue 
facts  about  those  you  didn't  know.  Extend  the  list  of  titles  for 
the  starred  names.    Add  publisher  (and  price  if  possible). 

6.  If  within  reach  of  a  large  library,  look  up  a  dozen  of  the  books 
you  did  not  know ;  add  descriptive  remarks. 

7.  {a)  Select  from  your  total,  completed  list,  eight  volumes  you 
would  recommend  some  one  with  limited  means  to  get  as  a  general 
child-study  library. 

{b)  Select  a  library  for  a  missionary  going  to  India. 

(c)   Select  the  best  four  to  give  a  young  father. 

id)  Select  thirty  for  the  library  of  a  women's  college. 


Addams 

W.  S.  Hall 

Rowe 

Adler 

Eliz.  Harrison 

Rusk 

Appleton 

Hogan 

Shinn 

*Ayres 

Holt 

Slattery 

*Barnes 

G.  E.  Johnson 

Slaughter 

Binet 

Irving  King 

Starbuck 

Chamberlain 

*Kirkpatrick' 

Sully 

Chenery 

Lancaster 

Swift 

Coe 

Lee 

Tanner 

Dawson 

Lukens 

Taylor 

Dewey 

*McKeever 

Terman 

D.  Canfield  Fisher 

Mangold 

♦Thorndike 

♦Forbush 

Moll 

Travis 

W.  T.  Foster 

Mumford 

Tyler 

Gesell 

Norsworthy 

Whipple 

Goddard 

♦O'Shea 

Winch 

Gruenberg 

Oppenheim 

Wood  Allen 

Gulick 

Preyer 

Woods  Hutchinson 

*G.  Stanley  Hall 

Pyle  . 

8.  List  the  agencies  in  your  town  that  have  to  do  with  child 

welfare.    What  others  do  you  know  of  ? 

9.   Send  to  The 

Children's  Bureau, 

Washington,  D.  C,  for 

its  catalogue  of  publications. 

Methods  used  in  Child  Psychology  345 

10.  What  periodicals  act  as  organs  for  child  study  or  child  wel- 
fare institutions?  (Consult  librarian  for  a  full  list.  Check  off 
those  you  know.) 

11.  In  what  way  could  the  following  help  you  in  fostering  public 
interest  in  child  life? 

The  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York  City. 

The  National  Child  Labor  Committee,  New  York  City. 

The  Eugenics  Record  Office,  Cold  Spring  Harbor,  L.  I., 
N.  Y. 

The  National  Child  Welfare  Exhibit  Association,  New  York 
City. 

Better  Babies  Bureau,  %  Woman's  Home  Companion,  New 
York  City. 

Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children  (local). 

Write  to  any  of  the  first  four  for  leaflets,  information,  or  advice. 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  Compare  and  criticize  the  lists  compiled  in  exercise  7. 

2.  How  does  the  work  of  the  agencies  listed  in  exercise  8  cor- 
relate ?    Overlap  ? 

3.  What  city  institutions  should  be  correlated  with  a  Child 
Welfare  League  ? 

4.  Besides  the  teacher  and  the  judge,  for  whom  else  would 
you  recommend  child  study? 

5.  Where  besides  school  and  home  is  a  good  place  to  study 
children  ? 

6.  What  would  be  the  difference  in  aim  and  methods  between 
a  mothers'  club  and  a  parent- teacher  association? 

7.  What  sort  of  work  can  a  parent-teacher  association  under- 
take? 

8.  In  what  form  of  child  study  would  parents  most  likely  be 
interested  ?    Why  ? 

9.  How  can  the  faults  of  the  questionnaire  method  be  to  some 
extent  avoided. 

10.  Describe  the  attitude  desirable  in  a  person  who  undertakes 
to  observe  children. 

1 1 .  What  sort  of  work  has  The  Children's  Bureau  at  Washington 
undertaken  in  the  last  five  years? 


346  Psychology  of  Childhood 

References  for  Reading 

Rusk,  Introduction  to  Experimental  Edtication,  ch.  i. 
Mangold,  Child  Problems,  ch.  i. 
McKeever,  Outlines  of  Child  Study,  Part  i. 
Claparede,  Experimental  Pedagogy,  chs.  2,  3. 
Partridge,  Outlines  of  Individual  Study. 
Forbush,  Guidebook  to  Childhood,  pp.  1-6,  503-525. 

(The  following  section  is  intended  for  those  who  wish  either 
a  better  understanding  of  such  statistical  terms  as  they  may 
commonly  meet  in  any  journal  of  child  study  to-day,  or  a 
tentative  acquaintance  with  the  simpler  usages.  For  an  ade- 
quate study  of  measurements  the  student  is  referred  to  a  full 
textbook  on  the  subject.  Chapter  3  of  Whipple's  "  Manual 
of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests  "  gives  a  fuller  explanation  of 
many  measures  than  is  attempted  here.) 

STATISTICAL  METHODS. —  In  considering  groups  of 
children  relative  to  some  standard,  or  a  series  of  similar  meas- 
^^  ures  on  the  same  child,  at  least  the  following  points 

statistical      a^re  to  be  noted : 
facts  about  a       i.  the  number  of  cases. 

group  of 

measures  2.  the  range  of  the  measures. 

should  one        ^    ^]^g  meaning  of  the  unit  of  measurement. 

4.  some    central    tendency    around    which    the 
measures  are  clustered. 

5.  some  convenient  index  of  the  deviation  of  the  measures 
from  the  central  tendency. 

6.  some  comparison  of  the  whole  set  of  measures  with  other 
sets  of  the  same  kind  of  measures  on  another  group  of  people. 

7.  a  measure  of  likeness,  of  resemblance  of  different  measures 
made  on  the  same  people. 

These  will  be  discussed  in  the  order  given. 

I.  Noting  the  number.  —  First.  It  makes  a  great  difference 
in  crediting  statements  about  a  proficiency  whether  they  are 
based  on  a  study  of  fourteen  caseS;  forty,  or  four  hundred. 


Methods  used  in  Child  Psychology  347 

Similarly  in  computing  the  scores  of  arithmetic  papers  we 
should  want  to  know  whether  we  had  thirty  or  three  hundred 
to  deal  with ;  or  in  testing  a  child  whether  he  repeats  six  words 
or  sixty.     The  n  is  therefore  the  first  measure  to  be  stated. 

2.  Noting  the  range.  —  Second.  The  range  of  abilities 
measured  is  important.  In  a  class  of  children  adding  exam- 
ples in  a  limited  time  some  may  finish  only  three  examples, 
others  do  as  many  as  twenty.  In  another  group  there  may  be 
a  narrower  range,  of  from  five  to  seventeen  examples  finished. 
The  range  of  age  in  a  given  grade  may  be  from  nine  to  fourteen 
years  old,  or  from  nine  and  a  half  to  twelve  and  a  half.  Either 
way,  it  will  make  a  difference  in  the  practical  handling  of  a 
group  if  the  range  is  large  or  small.  Then  again  the  range  of  a 
child's  grades  in  one  subject  may  be  from  40  per  cent  to  90 
per  cent,  in  another  subject  from  80  per  cent  to  95  per  cent. 
In  every  set  of  measures,  then,  we  should  know  the  range  over 
which  they  are  distributed. 

When  dealing  with  all  sorts  of  scores,  having  counted  the 
n  and  observed  the  range,  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  rearrange 
the  scores  in  a  serial  order.  For  example,  after  ^hatisa 
giving  a  test  to  a  high  school  class  in  algebra  let  us  Quick  way  to 
say,  the  roll  book  would  show  the  scores  entered  '"^"^^'^ 
opposite  the  names.  As  these  are  in  alphabetical  order  the 
scores  come  quite  haphazard,  something  like  the  following, 
let  us  suppose :  80,  75,  70,  60,  75,  85,  70,  65,  80,  70,  60,  75,  65, 
85,  65,  70,  55,  70,  75,  50,  80,  75,  70,  80,  70,  65,  75,  70,  90,  70, 
85,  75,  65.  Counting  these,  we  see  that  n  is  33,  and  the  range 
from  90,  the  highest,  to  50,  the  lowest  score,  running  by  steps 
of  five.  The  next  thing  is  to  arrange  these.  The  most  con- 
venient way  to  do  this  is  to  space  the  range  of  scores  along  a 
horizontal  line  in  serial  order  beginning  with  the  lowest ;  then 
place  a  check  mark  above  each  as  it  occurs  in  reading  off  the 
list  above  from  the  separate,  dislocated  records.  By  using 
quadrille  ruled  paper  these  check  marks  can  easily  be  kept 
aligned.     In  this  case  we  get  from  the  record : 


348  Psychology  of  Childhood 


« 

♦ 

* 

♦ 

.tration  i. 

* 

« 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

*    * 

* 

* 

*     *     * 

*    * 

* 

*     *     * 

♦    *    *    * 

* 

*     *     *     * 

50  55  60  65  7( 

D  75  So  85  90 

or 

50 

I 

case 

55 

I 

case 

60 

2 

cases 

65 

5 

cases 

70 

9 

cases 

75 

7 

cases 

80 

4 

cases 

85 

3 

cases 

90 

I 

case 

I 


This  method  has  the  advantage  of  being  very  rapid.  By  using 
a  heavy  check  mark  for  every  fifth  in  a  vertical  line,  or  by 
barring  five  together,  it  is  easy  to  the  eye  to  count  up  the  num- 
ber of  cases  at  each  score  and  so  give  the  data  for  the  table  of 
distributions  given.  By  drawing  a  heavy  line  round  the  ir- 
regularities one  has  a  picture  of  the  distribution  curve,  and 
the  complete  graph  of  the  distribution.  By  starting  the  table 
with  the  lowest  score,  we  now  have  the  low  end  of  the  dis- 
tribution curve  to  the  left,  as  is  customary. 

Exercises 

Find  the  n  and  the  range,  and  tabulate  as  shown,  drawing  the 
graph.    Use  square-ruled  graph  paper. 

I.  These  are  scores  used  instead  of  percentage  ratings:    A 


Methods  used  in  Child  Psychology  349 

means  excellent  and  F  failure.  CCBDCBBCBDDCE 
DFCEDACADCCB. 

2.  These  are  the  ages  of  children  in  a  fourth  grade.  9,  8,  10, 
9,  II,  9,  II,  9,  9,  10,  9,  10,  9,  7,  II,  9,  10,  9,  10,  9,  9, 
8,  9,   10,    8,  9,   II,   10,   II,   10,  9,   10,9,   II,   8,  10,  II. 

3.  These  are  scores  of  amount  done  in  an  addition  test. 

17  20  23  20  23  17  20  29  23  17  32  23  26 
23  26  5  23  14  29  23  17  20  II  14  20  23 
14  17  20  17  20  II  26  8  23  20  23  II  17 
20  23  17  II  26  20  20  23  32  23  26  29  26 
26      20      23      29      23      32      26      29      17      35      20      26       23 

3.  Meaning  of  units  used.  —  Third  :  as  to  the  meaning  of 
the  scores.  In  the  first  illustration  just  what  does  a  score  of 
80  represent?  Primarily  an  artificial  value  attached  by  one 
teacher  to  a  piece  of  work.  Another  teacher  with  another 
range  in  mind  might  rate  it  65.  In  any  case  it  probably  does 
not  mean'  that  it  is  equidistant  from  60  and  100,  nor  twice 
as  good  as  a  score  of  40  would  be,  nor  the  exact  equivalent  of 
a  B—  in  another  system  of  scoring.  These  are  subjective 
units,  arbitrary  values,  measured  down  from  a  standard  of 
perfection  rather  than  up  from  a  definite  zero  point.  Much  of 
the  present  work  in  mental  measurements  involves  devising 
scales  as  objective  as  possible,  and  determining  the  values  of 
the  units  employed. 

Still  another  question  arises,  affecting  not  only  the  inter- 
pretation of  a  scale  but  certain  calculations  within  it.  80 
means  at  least  80  but  not  as  high  as  85,  since  the  step  in  this 
illustration  is  five ;  we  should  think  of  the  ability  it  measures 
not  as  discrete  but  as  continuous  from  80  to  84.9,  in  fact.  But 
in  exercise  2,  age  10  may  mean  either  all  children  who  have 
passed  the  loth  birthday,  or  all  children  whose  loth  birthday 
is  the  nearest.  (As  a  matter  of  pride,  parents  whose  child  is 
almost  10  will  prefer  to  record  him  as  10  rather  than  9.)  The 
score  then  may  mean  from  10  to  11,  or  from  9^  to  loj ;  which- 
ever it  does  mean  should  be  clearly  stated  to  any  one  using  the 
table. 


350 


Psychology  of  Childhood 


4.  Central  tendency.  —  Fourth.  On  examining  any  nor- 
mal grouping  of  scores  in  either  the  table  or  the  graph,  it  will 
be  seen  that  they  cluster  about  a  central  point  and  are  less 
and  less  frequent  towards  the  extremes  of  the  range. 

The  mode.  —  One  measure  of  the  central  tendency  little 
known  but  quite  frequently  intended  is  the  mode.  This  means, 
What  is  the  ^  as  its  name  implies,  the  fashionable,  modish  score, 
mode?  that  which  most  people  get,  which  occurs  most  fre- 

quently. A  mere  glance  at  a  table  shows  the  greatest  fre- 
quency in  the  column  of  frequencies,  and  the  score  opposite 
this  is  the  modal  score.  Thus  in  Illustration  i,  the  highest 
frequency  is  9,  and  the  score  gained  by  them  is  70 ;  the  mode 
therefore  is  70,  since  more  pupils  get  that  score  than  any  other. 
In  exercise  15  below  the  modal  score  is  5.  In  the  graph,  since 
the  most  elevated  point  represents  the  greatest  number  of 
cases,  the  score  marked  in  the  base  line  directly  below  this  point 

the  modal  score. 


IS 


Exercises 

4.  Name  the  mode  in  exercises  i,  2,  and  3  above. 

5.  Name  the  mode  in  the  following  table  (taken  from  Thorn- 
dike,  "  Mental  and  Social  Measurements,"  p.  36).    Draw  the  graph. 


HotJM.Y  Earnings 
IN  Cents 

Frequency 

Hourly  Earnings 
IN  Cents 

Frequency 

23 
24 

25 
26 

3 

7 

20 

28 

27 
28 
29 

22 

7 

I 

The  median.  —  Another  central  tendency  that  should  be 
better  known  and  more  widely  used  is  the  median.    As  its 
name  suggests,  it  is  in  the  exact  middle  of  the  dis-  whatisthe 
tribution,  the  point  above  and  below  which  lie  an  '"^^'O"? 


Methods  used  in  Child  Psychology 


351 


equal  number  of  cases.     The  median  score  is  obtained  by 

counting  in  from  either  end  of   the  tabulated   measures  till 

the  middle  case  is  reached ;  the  score  which  that  middle  case 

fi  -\-  1 

gets  is  the  median  score.    The  formula  is .    Thus,  if  we 

2 

have  17  children  tested  in  anything,  after  having  arranged 
the  recorded  abilities  in  serial  order,  we  count  in  till  the  9th 
child  is  reached ;  the  rating  given  him  is  the  median  score  for 
the  group  of  17.  In  exercise  i  above  there  are  25  cases 
Counting  in  till  the  13  th  case  is  reached,  we  see  his  score  is  C  ; 
therefore  the  median  score  is  C.  If  we  have  an  even  number 
of  cases,  we  have,  not  a  median  score  but  a  median  point 
halfway  between  the  scores  of  the  two  middle  cases.  Thus 
in  exercise  15  below,  with  56  cases,  the  median  point  is  be- 
tween the  scores  gained  by  the  28th  and  29th  individuals 

[ =  28^  J.     Counting  in  from  either  end,  since  both  the 

28th  and  29th  persons  get  a  score  of  5,  the  median  is  5,  with- 
out need  of  further  refinement. 


Exercises 

Find  the  median  in  the  two  examples  below. 

6.  7.  Taken  from  Goddard 


Grade 

Freq. 

F 

I 

D 

0 

D-i- 

4 

C 

10 

C-h 

13 

B 

9 

B  + 

5 

A 

3 

Mental  Age 

Freq. 

6 

I 

7 

3 

8 

12 

9 

58 

10 

124 

II 

SO 

12 

42 

13 

30 

14 

6 

352  Psychology  of  Childhood 

8.   Find  the  median  in  example  5. 

INTERPOLATED  MEDIAN.  —  When  we  are  deaKng  with  scales 
in  which  the  steps  are  big,  such  as  in  Illustration  i  where  the 
step  is  five,  or  ex.  3  where  the  step  is  three,  we  should  take 
into  consideration  just  what  the  score  means  and  interpolate 
accordingly.  Thus  60  stands  for  a  rough  measure  only,  prob- 
ably the  lower  limit  of  a  range  from  60  to  64.99,  ^^  noted  before. 
We  may  suppose  the  abilities  thus  roughly  measured  really 
distributed  evenly  along  the  range,  and  in  calculating  a  median, 
take  this  interpretation  into  account.  Of  the  33  cases  in  Il- 
lustration I  the  rating  of  the  17  th  person  will  be  the  median 
score.  Counting  in  from  the  low  end  of  the  distribution  we 
find  he  is  the  8th  person  of  the  group  of  nine  who  are  scored 
70.  Since  70  means  from  70  to  74.9  and  he  is  the  highest  but 
one  in  the  group  of  nine,  his  score  is  obviously  nearer  75  than 
70.  It  will  be  70  plus  eight  ninths  of  the  step.  Eight  ninths 
of  5  added  to  70  =  74.4,  the  median  score.  In  example  3  above 
there  are  65  cases.  The  median  score  will  be  that  obtained 
by  the  33d  person.  Counting  in  from  the  low-score  end,  the 
23d  case  is  the  2d  in  the  group  of  sixteen  who  are  scored 
23,  obviously  near  the  lower  limit  of  a  step  of  three.  Two 
sixteenths  of  the  step  must  be  added  to  23  to  give  us  the  median ; 
then,  23  -+-  ^  of  3  =  23.37,  or  more  convenient  y,  23.4.  If 
the  original  measures  have  been  only  roughly  scored,  it  is  not 
wise  to  refine  the  median  too  far.  In  case  the  actual  measures 
can  be  obtained  it  is  advisable  to  get  the  real,  rather  than  an 
interpolated,  median.  Thus,  in  ex.  2  above,  if  the  children 
themselves  were  available,  rather  than  calculating  the  median, 
(the  19th  case)  as  the  14th  out  of  the  fifteen  aged  9  and 
calling  it  9  -h  If  of  12  months,  we  should  range  those  fifteen 
children  in  order  of  age  and  ask  the  oldest  but  one  exactly  how 
old  he  was,  to  a  week,  which  would  give  us  the  median  age  for 
the  group. 


Methods  used  in  Child  Psychology 


353 


Exercises 
Find  the  median  in  the  following  tables : 
9- 


lO. 


Weight  in  lbs. 

Freq, 

80  to    89 

I 

90  to    99 

6 

100  to  109 

II 

no  to  119 

16 

120  to  129 

4 

120  to  139 

I 

Score 

No.  of  ChOdren 

—  10 

3 

-  5 

5 

0 

8 

5 

10 

10 

33 

IS 

36 

20 

29 

25 

16 

30 

II 

35 

4 

40 

3 

II.   In  example  7  interpolate  the  median,  using  52  weeks  as  the 
range  scored  as  a  year. 

The  average.  —  The  central  tendency  most  commonly 
spoken  of  is  the  average.  Unfortunately  it  is  frequently  mis- 
interpreted, as  in  supposing  that  the  "  average  per-  what  is  the 
formance  "  is  what  the  majority  do,  or  is  a  typical  overage? 
performance,  or  the  one  most  frequently  observed,  or  in  itself 
a  high  standard.  It  is  not  any  of  these  things,  but  is  simply 
the  arithmetic  mean  of  all  the  cases  observed,  and  is  obtained 
by  adding  all  the  scores  recorded  and  dividing  by  the  number 
of  cases.    Thus  in  Illustration  i,  we  multiply 

50  by  I 
55  by  I 
60  by  2 
65  by  5 


354  Psychology  of  Childhood 

and  so  on  —  add  the  products  and  divide  by  n  which  is  :2,7,. 
The  average  score  is  71.8.    Verify  this. 

Exercises 

12.  Find  the  average  age  in  example  2  above,  considering  8  to 
mean  from  8  to  9.  Give  the  result  to  the  nearest  half  year.  If 
the  score  meant  from  7^  to  8|-,  what  difference  would  that  make  ? 

13.  Find  the  average  for  example  3  above. 

14.  Is  the  average  higher  or  lower  than  the  mode,  in  each  case? 

15.  Find  the  average  of  this  table  of  scores,  carrying  to  one 
decimal  place  only.    Draw  the  graph. 


COR 

E              Frequekcy 

I 

occurs 

2 

times 

2 

occurs 

5 

times 

3 

occurs 

9 

times 

4 

occurs 

10 

times 

5 

occurs 

13 

times 

6 

occurs 

8 

times 

7 

occurs 

6 

times 

8 

occurs 

2 

times 

Q 

occurs 

I 

time 

16.  Find  the  mode  and  the  average  in  example  7. 

17.  Which  is  found  most  quickly,  mode,  median,  or  average? 

18.  Which  of  the  three  involves  most  arithmetical  work? 

Comparison  of  three  kinds  of  central  tendency.  —  Comparing 
median,  mode,  and  average,  we  see  that  the  advantages  of  the 
average  are  its  familiarity  as  a  term  and  the  degree  of  refine- 
ment to  which  it  may  be  carried.  Its  disadvantages  are :  (i) 
that  it  sometimes  expresses  something  that  never  exists  as  an 
actual  measure,  (2)  that  it  is  too  readily  influenced  by  ex- 
tremes, and  (3)  that  it  takes  rather  long  to  calculate.  Thus, 
(i)  an  average  attendance  of  pupils  for  a  week  might  work 
out  at  twenty-eight  and  three  fifths,  a  somewhat  startling 
suggestion,  though  of  course  the  fraction  is  usually  disregarded. 


Methods  used  in  Child  Psychology  355 

Again,  (2)  an  average  cash  donation  might  be  seven  and  a 
quarter  cents ;  but  if  a  plutocrat  appears  with  a  single  con- 
tribution of  five  dollars  the  average  will  be  very  decidedly 
affected.  The  mode  would  never  be  expressed  in  an  impos- 
sible score,  and  the  median  is  not  greatly  disturbed  by  an  ex- 
ceptional extreme.  The  advantages  of  the  mode  are  its  in- 
formation of  what  really  is  the  usual  score,  and  the  great  ease 
with  which  it  can  be  found  by  a  mere,  hasty  inspection  of  table 
or  graph.  Its  disadvantage  is  that  it  is  rather  a  coarse  measure 
and  therefore  awkward  to  handle  in  later  calculations .  In  exam- 
ple 10  above,  for  instance,  it  might  best  be  called  the  distance 
from  10  to  25  rather  than  15.  The  advantages  of  the  median, 
as  already  indicated,  are  that  it  is  more  rapidly  found  than  the 
average,  is  a  finer  measure  than  the  mode  and  as  fine  as  the 
average,  is  a  stable  measure,  a  term  easy  to  imderstand  and 
less  likely  to  be  misinterpreted  than  the  term  average.  A 
little  practice  in  finding  the  median  soon  removes  the  dis- 
advantage of  less  familiarity  with  its  use. 

5 .  Deviations  from  the  central  tendency.  —  Fifth.  Just  as 
it  is  important  to  know  the  range  of  scores,  so  also  it  is  impor- 
tant to  have  some  measure  of  the  deviations  of  the  „ 

.  -     ,  ,    How  are 

scores  from  any  chosen  expression  of  the  central  deviations 
tendency.     To  know  merely  the  mode  gives  us  no  ^^f^^^^^^^ 
idea  of  the  variability  of  the  scores,  and,  especially 
in  comparing  two  groups,  it  is  important  to  get  an  expression 
of  the  spread  of  the  distribution  curve  beyond  what  the  range 
tells  us.     If  there  is  no  fixed  zero  point  but  simply  a  grading 
in  both  directions  from  some  unknown  x  taken  as  an  arbitrary 
standard,  this  measure  clearly  tells  us  more  than  the  range 
does.     In  comparing  two  groups  with  identical  modes  we 
have  no  way  of  telling  how  far  the  groups  are  similar  imless 
we  know  something  of  the  variations  from  the  mode.     Of  the 
two  tables  of  measures,  one  for  class  A,  one  for  class  B,  though 
the  mode  is  identical,  the  variability  and  the  range  are  evidently 
quite  different. 


3S6 


Psychology  of  Childhood 


Average  deviation. — A 
measure  of  variability 
What  is  the  frequently  used 
A.D.?  js  the  average 
deviation  (A.  D.)  some- 
times called  the  mean 
variation  (M.  V.)-  This 
is  the  average  of  the  de- 
viations of  all  the  scores 
from  the  chosen  central 
tendency.  In  the  case 
of  class  A  above,  since  lo  is  the  modal  score,  we  note  that 
there  are  13  cases  on  one  side  of  the  mode  and  16  on  the  other 
deviating  from  it  by  one  step  of  the  scale.  There  are  5  cases 
on  the  low  side,  and  9  on  the  high  side  deviating  by  two  steps, 
and  2  cases  deviating  by  three  steps.     Multiplying  then,  — 

Deviations  of  o  step  occur 
Deviations  of  i  step  occur  (13  +  16) 
Deviations  of  2  step  occur  (  5  -f-  9) 
Deviations  of  3  step  occur 


Score       Cl.  A. 

CI..B 

Illustration  2.     6 

— I 

7 

I— 

8 

p5 

p4 

9 

13-1 

1 1-1 

10 

20 

14 

II 

16J 

1 2-1 

12 

"-9 

Lg 

13 

2 

4— 

14 

— 2 

15 

I 

10  times  =    o 

29  times  =  29 

14  times  =  28 

2  times  =    6 


63 

This  divided  by  the  n,  which  is  65,  gives  us  .97  of  a  step 
as  the  average  deviation  in  either  direction.  A.  D.  =  =*=  .97. 
In  the  case  of  B  the  calculation  is : 

D  of  o  step  14  times  =    o 

D  of  I  step  (11  -f-  12)  23  times  =  23 

D  of  2  step  (44-8)  12  times  =24 

D  of  3  step  (1+4)  5  times  =  15 

D  of  4  step  (  I  -f-  2)  3  times  =  12 

D  of  5  step  I  time    =    5 

79,  which  divided  by  n, 
which  is  58,  gives  1.36  of  a  step  in  either  direction. 


A.  D.  =  ±1.36 


to 


Methods  used  in  Child  Psychology  357 

since  the  step  is  i.  Where  the  step  is  larger  than  i,  as 
in  Illustration  1,  when  we  get  A.  D.  as  1.33  of  a  step,  —  as  it 
may  be  found  to  be,  —  we  see  that  1.33  of  the  step  5  gives  us 
A.  D.  ±  6.65. 

The  A.  D.  can  of  course  be  found  from  the  median  or  from 
the  average  just  as  well,  though  if  we  have  a  fine  measure  we 
shall  be  working  with  fractions  of  a  step,  since  the  deviations 
are  not  in  integral  multiples  of  a  step.  It  will  also  be  simpler 
not  to  work  in  both  directions  at  once  but  to  calculate  the 
plus  and  minus  deviations  separately.  Thus,  in  Illustration 
I,  since  the  average  is  71.8,  the  9  measures  scored  70  deviate 
by  —  1.8,  the  7  measures  scored  75  deviate  by  +  3.2.  We 
state  the  facts  conveniently  thus : 

On  plus  side.  On  minus  side 

7  (^'s  of  3.2  =  22.4  9  <^'s  of  1.8  =  16.2 

4  <i's  of  8.2  =  32.8  5  J's  of  6.8  =  34.0,  etc., 

etc.  etc. 

Then. add  and  divide  by  t,^,  the  n,  as  before. 

With  a  central  tendency  that'  does  not  fall  near  the  mid- 
point of  the  range  the  A.  D.  must  always  be  given  for  each 
direction  separately.  Thus  we  might- have  a  +  A.  D.  of  2.5 
steps  and  a  —  A.  D.  of  only  .7  of  a  step  if  the  mode  came  near 
the  low  end  of  a  distribution. 

Exercises 

19.  Find  the  A.  D.  from  the  mode  in  example  3  and  example  6. 

20.  Find  the  A.  D.  from  the  average  in  example  2. 

21.  Find  the  A.  D.  from  the  median  in  example  5  and  example  15. 

22.  Verify  the  A.  D.  from  the  mode  in  Illustration  i. 

23.  Draw  a  graph  to  illustrate  the  possibility  stated  in  the  para- 
graph just  above. 

Median  deviation.  —  Another  measurement  of  the  deviations 
which  is  frequently  given  is  known  as  the  P.  E.   what  is  the 
This  is  really  the  median  deviation,  i.e.  the  median  ^-^-^ 
f  the  deviations  of  all  the  measures  from  any  given  central 


358  Psychology  of  Childhood 

tendency,  or,  in  other  words,  the  limits  above  and  below 
the  central  tendency  which  will  include  50  per  cent  of  the 
measures.  (The  letters  P.  E.  stand  for  the  name  "probable 
error,"  confusing  because  it  isn't  an  error  at  all,  but  the  diver- 
gences or  differences  considered  as  probable,  as  an  even  chance, 
on  a  fifty-fifty  basis.)  Just  as  the  median  is  more  quickly 
found  than  the  average,  so  the  median  deviation  is  more  easily 
obtained  than  the  average  deviation.  List  the  deviations,  in 
units  of  a  step  if  possible,  in  each  direction  from  the  chosen 
central  tendency  beginning  with  the  smallest,  till  half  of  n 
have  been  listed.  Thus,  to  help  the  eye,  the  deviations  from 
the  average  in  Illustration  i  might  be  arranged  thus : 

—  1.8    9  times 

7  times  +  3.2 

—  6.8     5  times 

4  times  +  8.2 
—  11.8     2  times 

3  times  +  13.2 

Thus  we  see  that  16  measures  are  passed  with  the  9  minus 
and  the  7  plus  deviations.  One  more  will  be  the  median 
deviation,  falling  at  6.8,  the  next  largest  deviation.  P.  E. 
is  therefore  6.8. 

Exercises 

24.  Find  the  P.  E.  from  the  mode,  the  median,  and  the  average 
in  example  3. 

25.  Find  the  P.  E.  from  the  mode,  the  median,  and  the  average 
in  example  7. 

26.  Find  the  P.  E.  from  the  median  in  example  9  and  example  10. 

6.  Comparison  of  groups.  —  Sixth.  Having  obtained  a  set 
of  measures  on  one  group  of  people  we  may  very  likely  want  to 
How  may  J^ow  how  they  Compare  with  the  same  measures 
groups  be  on  another  group.  For  instance,  how  do  the  rat- 
compare  ^^^  obtained  in  spelling  in  one  school  where  a  cer- 
tain method  is  used  compare  with  the  ratings  obtained  in 


Methods  used  in  Child  Psychology  359 

another  school  where  a  different  method  is  used?  The  pro- 
cedure is  to  tabulate  the  ratings  for  each,  note  the  range,  the 
median,  and  the  A.  D.  of  each  group.  Now  supposing  school 
A  gets  a  median  score  of  70,  and  school  B  gets  a  median  score 
of  78,  and  remembering  that  the  median  is  the  50  percentile, 
we  look  to  see  what  percentage  of  school  A  reach  or  exceed  a 
score  of  78,  the  median  of  school  B.  Obviously,  only  a  small 
per  cent  will.  Evidently  also,  in  reversing  the  statements  to 
show  what  percentage  of  school  B  reach  or  exceed  the  median 
of  school  A,  a  score  of  70,  it  would  be  a  large  percentage.  In 
reading  statements  such  as  *'  20  per  cent  of  group  X  reached 
the  median  of  group  Y,"  we  interpret  readily  that  Y's  per- 
formance was  higher,  that  the  median  for  Y  was  higher,  that 
the  ranges  overlap,  with  Y's  higher. 

Exercises 


27. 

Compare  examph 

i  6  with  this  table 

D 

I 

D-H 

3 

C 

4 

C-f- 

9 

B 

13 

B-h 

8 

A 

3 

28. 

Compare 

example 

J  9  with  this  table 

lb. 

80 

I 

90 

I 

100 

4 

no 

8 

120 

II 

130 

5 

140 

2 

7.  Measurement  of  resemblance  or  ccarelation.  —  Seventh. 
We  need  a  convenient  index  of  likeness. 


360  Psychology  of  Childhood 

Knowing  something  quantitatively  about  a  given  group  of 
people,  we  may  want  to  make  a  comparison  with  some  other 
How  may  ability,  trait,  or  performance  in  which  they  have  been 
likeness  be  measured  :  (i)  so  as  to  discover  any  likeness  or  possi- 
measured?  ^^j^  unlikeness  between  the  two  things  measured. 
(2)  We  might  want  some  guarantee  that  the  possession  of  one 
abihty  was  related  to  the  possession  of  another  abiHty,  so  that 
a  person  ranking  above  the  C.  T.  of  his  group  in  the  one  would 
rank  above  it  also  in  the  other.  Or  (3)  we  might  wish  to  dis- 
cover whether  any  cause  operating  to  make  one  rank  high  in 
one  thing  tended  to  make  one  rank  low  in  the  other.  Thus : 
(i)  knowing  ratings  for  spelling  for  a  given  school,  how  are 
they  related  to  arithmetic  ratings  for  the  same  children? 
(2)  Is  a  person  who  is  above  the  median  for  his  group  in 
quickness  in  memorizing  above  the  median  also  for  length  of 
retention?  (3)  Does  having  more  bad  teeth  than  the  aver- 
age go  with  being  less  bright  in  school-standing  than  the 
average  ? 

This  correlation,  known  as  r,  is  expressed  by  a  measure  vary- 
ing from  -f-  1. 00  through  zero  to  —  i.oo.  Perfect  correlation, 
or  -f-  1.00,  would  mean  that  the  child  getting  the  highest  score 
in  one  got  also  the  highest  in  the  other  —  that  the  second  best 
in  one  was  second  best  in  the  other,  and  so  on  down  to  the 
worst  in  one  being  the  worst  in  the  other.  Zero  correlation 
would  mean  that  there  was  no  relationship  whatever  discover- 
able between  the  two  sets  of  measures.  Perfect  inverse  cor- 
relation of  —  1.00  would  mean  that  the  highest  in  the  first 
ability  was  the  lowest  in  the  other  —  that  the  second  highest 
in  the  first  was  the  second  lowest  in  the  other,  and  so  on  down 
to  the  poorest  in  the  first  being  the  best  in  the  other.  Any  r 
on  the  plus  side  means  a  degree  of  resemblance ;  any  r  on  the 
minus  side  means  a  degree  of  dissimilarity  in  relationship. 
The  nearer  any  r  is  to  zero  the  less  relationship  of  any  kind 
exists.  Roughly,  we  expect  correlation  on  the  positive  side 
between  such  measures  as  age  and  height  of  children ;  it  will 


Methods  used  in  Child  Psychology  361 

not  be  so  high  an  r  as  +  i.oo  but  it  will  be  on  the  plus  side 
certainly,  since  we  add  inches  with  years,  so  that  the  older 
members  of  a  group  are,  on  the  whole,  taller  than  the  younger 
ones.  Roughly  we  expect  a  zero  correlation  between  height 
and  shades  of  eye-color  scaled  on  a  tintometer,  since  we  do  not 
see  what  connection  the  two  sets  of  facts  might  have.  Roughly, 
we  expect  some  negative  correlation  between  age  of  gradua- 
tion and  a  general  index  of  class  standing ;  for  the  older  a  child 
gets  to  be  before  leaving  the  eighth  grade,  presumably  the  less 
bright  he  is  intellectually,  and  the  lower  class  standing  he  has 
had. 

A  correlation  coefficient  of  .95  means  then  a  very  close  re- 
semblance ;  of  .50,  that  it  is  half  as  great  as  it  might  be.  Given 
the  divergence  of  any  individual  from  the  central  tendency  of 
his  group  and  an  r  of,  say  .58,  between  the  measurements  of 
that  ability  and  the  measurements  of  another,  then  we  may 
expect  his  divergence  from  the  central  tendency  in  the  other 
abihty  to  be  58  hundredths  of  the  amount  of  his  divergence 
in  the  first  ability,  and  in  the  same  direction,  above  or  below 
the  central  tendency  as  the  case  may  be.  An  f  of  i  .00  would 
tell  us  he  diverged  equally  far  in  the  same  direction ;  —  i.oo, 
equally  far  in  the  opposite  direction  from  the  central  tendency. 

The  method  of  obtaining  the  r  will  not  be  shown  here. 
Students  wishing  further  information  concerning  it  or  other 
measures  are  referred  to  the  books  suggested  below. 

Exercises 

29.  What  sort  of  r  would  you  expect  between  height  and  weight  ? 
Between  accuracy  of  aim  and  speed,  when  first  learning  to  hit  a 
mark?  Between  memory  for  digits  and  discrimination  of  pitch 
of  sounds?  Between  speed  of  reading  and  intellectual  superi- 
ority?   Between  size  of  vocabulary  and  age? 

30.  Criticize  these  remarks:  (i)  ''They  do  poor  work  in  that 
class;  only  half  the  pupils  came  up  to  the  average."  (2)  "They're 
just  as  good  on  the  average  so  they  must  be  alike."     (3)  "X  gained 


362 


Psychology  of  Childhood 


only  10  points  since  the  last  test,  Y  gained  20,  so  Y  has  done  twice 
as  well  as  X." 

31.  Draw  a  graph  to  show  normal  distribution,  mode  and 
median  coinciding. 

32.  Draw  a  graph  to  show  a  skewed  curve,  the  mode  near  the 
low  end  of  the  range. 

33.  Draw  two  graphs  superposed  on  the  same  range,  the  mode 
of  one  coinciding  with  its  median,  the  mode  of  the  other  near  the 
high  end  of  the  range. 

34.  Draw  two  superposed  graphs,  their  medians  coinciding, 
the  range  of  one  wide,  the  range  of  the  other  narrow. 

35.  Draw  two  superposed  graphs,  normal  distribution,  so  that 
the  median  of  one  falls  approximately  at  the  —  P.  E.  of  the  other. 


FormuUe  for  Reference 

A                                      SW 

Average  = 

n 

A.  D.  =  — 

n 

2  =  sum  of 
w= measures 

Median  = 

2 

P.  E.=  0.8453  A.  D. 

n  =  number 
d  =  deviations 

References 

Thomdike,  Menial  and  Social  Measurements. 
Rugg,  Statistical  Methods  Applied  to  Education. 


INDEX 


Acquired  traits,  6,  7. 

Action,  226,  242,  255.  See  Conduct, 
Physical  activity. 

Addams,  223,  344. 

Adenoids,  122,  273,  278,  363. 

Adkr,  344. 

Adolescents,  degeneration  of,  319;  delin- 
quent, 239,  269, 333 ;  imagination  of,  155, 
158,  167;  play  of,  218;  reading  of,  158; 
reasoning  of,  182;  religious  development 
of,  236,  252  f. 

Adopted  sons,  8. 

Esthetic  emotions,  87  f,  363. 

Affective  states,  chap.  V,  363. 

Agassiz,  33. 

Age,  chronological,  268;  mental,  308,  325, 
326,  330;  physiological,  268,  308. 

Age  differences,  in  amentia,  326;  in  atten- 
tion, 100,  104 ;  in  chorea,  317 ;  in  collect- 
ing instinct,  53,  54;  in  desire  for  ap- 
proval, 66,  67 ;  in  fighting,  55 ;  in  growth, 
267 ;  in  imagination,  154,  168 ;  in  matur- 
ing, 44,  268;  in  memorizing,  132 ;  in  ob- 
servation, 126  f;  in  physical  troubles, 
334;  in  plasticity,  188;  in  play,  216  f ; 
in  precocity,  330;  in  reasoning,  170, 171, 
182 ;  in  retentiveness,  132, 133 ;  in  school 
periods,  138  f;  in  teeth  changing,  291; 
in  types  of  memory,  134. 

Allen,  Wood,  344. 

Amentia,  321,  323.  363- 

Aments,  322  f. 

Analysis,  74,  92,  116,  179,  184,  305,  323. 

Ancestry,  i  f . 

Anger,  31,  90,  91. 

Apperception,  38,  115,  116,  127,  166,  167, 
238,  239,  363. 

Appkton,  207,  209,  344. 

Approval,  66  f,  81,  95,  248. 

Arithmetic  scales,  341. 

Asexualization,  326,  363. 

Associations,  133,  141,  179,  323. 

Assurance,  144,  318. 

Astigmatism,  121,  363. 


Attention,  chap.  VI;  breadth  of,  104; 
and  curiosity,  no;  duration  of,  103; 
forced,  106  f;  habit  of,  no;  and  habits, 
loi,  104;  and  improvement,  203;  and 
incentives,  109;  and  instinct,  97  f;  in- 
tensity of,  102 ;  and  interest,  108  f ;  and 
memorizing,  139, 140,  144 ;  and  observa- 
tion, 125  f;  and  perception,  114,  130; 
and  play,  223;  and  practice,  104;  range 
of,  99;  and  reasoning,  177;  sensory,  105 ; 
spontaneous,  107;  strain  of,  106;  of 
aments,  323;  of  five-year-olds,  288;  of 
childhood,  248. 

Attention-getting,  at  eleven  years,  301 ;  at 
five  years,  286. 

Auditory,  defects,  122;  images,  151. 

Average,  353  f ;  return  towards,  6. 

Average  deviation,  356. 

Ayres,  259,  344. 

Ay  res  Spellmg  Scale,  341."! 

Backward  children,  327. 

Bagley,  in,  196. 

Baldwin,  16. 

Barnes,  339,  344. 

Barr,  313. 

Bibliographies,  343,  344. 

Bigelow,  79,  81. 

Binet,  16,  134,  339,  340,  342,  344. 

Binet  tests,  325 ;  for  eleven-year-olds,  305; 

for  five-year-olds,  289. 
Boas,  18,  20,  279. 

Bolton,  4,  33,  34,  35,  38,  40,  44,  58. 
Bonser,  185,  186. 
Boys.    See  Sex  differences. 
Brown,  184. 
Bryan,  44. 
Burbank,  18. 

Bureau  of  Education,  331. 
Burk,  26,  33,  S3,  58. 
Burris,  5.     "^ 


Calories,  281,  291,  363. 
Cambridge  plan,  333. 


369 


370 


Index 


Central  tendency,  350  f . 

Chamberlain,  344. 

Chenery,  344, 

Chicago  system,  333. 

Child,  at  eleven,  290  f;  at  five,  280  f.    See 

Kindergarten,  Stages  of  child  life. 
Child  study  methods,  336. 
Child  Welfare  League,  345. 
Children's  Bureau,  345. 
Choice,  224,  240,  24s,  249,  251. 
Chorea,  317. 
Claparide,  346. 
Clinics,  259,  271,  278. 
Coe,  231,  235,  252,  257,  344- 
Coefficient,  of  ability,  325;  of  correlation, 

359- 
Collecting  instinct,  26,  28,  30,  52  f,  SS,  58, 

299. 
Color,  I,  2,  88,  113,  118,  126,  288,  289,  297. 
Color  blindness,  i,  13,  122. 
Comparison  of  groups,  358. 
Competition.    See  Rivalry. 
Concepts,  of  God,  232,  246,  248;  moral, 

248,  250;  of  number,  288,  304,  347;  of 

space,  119,  288,  304;  of  time,  120,  288, 

304. 
Conduct,  226  f,  242,  253,  29s,  304. 
Conradi,  272. 
Conversion,  253. 
Cooky,  71. 

Correlation,  268,  272,  359. 
Courtis  tests,  341. 
Crampton,  268. 

Cretins,  322,  324,  326,  332,  364. 
Critical  attitude,  179. 
Croswdl,  218. 

Cruelty,  51.  62,  76,  257,  294. 
Culture  epoch  theory,  37,  38,  40,  236. 
Curiosity,  55,  57,  no,  234,  247,  249,  250, 

284,  287,  302. 
Curtis,  46. 

Daniels,  252. 

Da  Rocha,  16. 

Darwin,  34,  339. 

Daskatn,  168. 

Dawson,  33,  344. 

Day-dreaming,  155,  158,  167,  254  f,  298, 

313,  316,  318,  319,  334- 
Defects,  of  hearing,  122,  274;  of  speech, 

272  ;  of  teeth,  271 ;  of  vision,  121. 
Definitions,  178,  290,  305. 
Dclayedness  of  instincts,  26,  32,  39. 


Dementia,  321 ;  dementia  praecox,  319, 364. 

Development,  263  f,  267;  of  perception, 
112  f;  of  thinking,  170. 

Deviations,  355  f. 

Dewey,  83,  106,  in,  128,  186,  344.' 

Diagnosis,  of  amentia,  324;  of  epilepsy, 
315;  of  exceptional  morality,  313;  of 
hysteria,  316;  of  lack  of  progress,  201; 
of  neurasthenia,  318;  of  superior  in- 
telligence, 329;  of  tuberculosis,  275. 

Disease,  258,  272,  274,  276. 

Display,  66,  80. 

Disposition,  2,  190,  260. 

Distribution  curves,  348;  tables,  348  f, 
364- 

Disuse,  30. 

Dolbear,  312,  334. 

Doll  play,  60,  208,  285,  297. 

Dramatization,  157,  164,  168,  209,  211, 
218,  251,  252,  285. 

Effect,  law  of,  47,  91,  92,  104,  191  f,  198, 
211,  240,  282,  365. 

Eleven-year-olds,  instincts,  298  f ;  mentally, 
303 ;  morally,  294 ;  physically,  290 ;  play 
life,  297;  school  standards  for,  305; 
socially,  292;  tests  for,  305;  weight 
variation,  259. 

Ellis,  Havelock,  4,  11,  13,  15,  328. 

Embryology,  34. 

Emotions,  control  of,  91  f ;  and  dramatics, 
165;  and  instincts,  89;  observation  of, 
96. 

Emulation,  68  f,  287,  302. 

England,  121,  228,  306  f,  321,  332. 

Environment.    See  Heredity. 

Epilepsy,  16,  315. 

Eugenics,  326,  334,  364. 

Exceptional  children,  chap.  XVI;  clas- 
sified, 311,  mentally,  320  f;  morally, 
311  f;  provision  for,  331;  treatment  of, 
314,326,330. 

Exercise,  law  of,  47,  91,  104,  191  f,  211, 
241  f,  365. 

Exercises  or  field-work  for  students,  20, 
57,  80,  95,  129,  167,  184,  203  f,  222,  256, 
277,  308,  333,  349  f,  357  f,  361. 

Experimental  method,  340. 

Fear,  28,  36,  93  f,  162,  234,  245,  286,  299. 
Feebleminded.    See  Amer|ts. 
Fighting,   28,   54  f,   58,  80,  90,  284,  286, 
300. 


Index 


371 


Fisher,  344. 

Five-year-olds,  instincts,  286;  mentally, 
287 ;  morally,  283 ;  physically,  280 ; 
play  life,  284 ;  socially,  281 ;  tests  for,  289. 

Food,  at  eleven  years,  291 ;  at  five  years, 
281.     See  Nutrition. 

Food-getting,  49  f,  286,  299. 

Forbush,  257,  344,  346. 

Foster,  344. 

France,  306  f,  332. 

Frequency,  law  of.  See  Exercise,  Repeti- 
tion. 

Freud,  133. 

Fundamental  to  accessory,  43  f,  58. 

Gallon,  2,  4,  8,  9,  20. 

Games,  see  Play. 

Gang  instinct,  26,  65,  67,  81,  85,  2i8j  248, 

251,  257,  296,  300. 
Genius,  4,  8,  311,  328,  330. 
Germany,  306  f,  332. 
Gesell,  46,  90,  no,  344. 
Girls.     See  Sex  differences. 
Goddard,  325,  334,  344,  351. 
Graphs,  199,  348  f,  362,  364. 
Gregariousness,  63  f,  234,  300.     See  Gang. 
Griffin g,  99. 
Groos,  207. 
Growth,  factors  in,   263 ;  of  parts,   267 ; 

rate  of,  265. 
Gruenberg,  344. 
Gulick,  344. 

Habit,  chap.  XI;  and  attention,  loi,  104, 
no;  breaking  of,  195,  203 ;  in  early  child- 
hood, 190;  forming  of,  187  f;  hygienic, 
204;  and  imitation,  72,  73;  laws  of,  191 
f,  240,  241;  moral,  226,  283;  muscular, 
201;  posture,  261;  precepts  of,  192  f; 
and  reasoning,  171,  186;  and  religion, 
233;  of  reUgious  observance,  246,  251; 
social,  283,  296;  spasms,  317. 

Habitation  instinct,  60,  285,  299. 

Hall,  G.  Stanley,  SZ,  43,  Qo,  93,  ii5,  128, 
130,  132,  168,  207,  208,  223,  339;  344- 

Hall,  W.  S.,.344, 

Hancock,  45. 

Harrison,  344. 

Harvard  Newton  Scale,  341. 

Health,  258  f. 

Height,  chart,  277;  growth  in,  265;  of 
eleven-year-olds,  290;  of  five-year-olds, 
280;  inheritance  of,  263. 


Heredity,  chap.  I;  and  amentia,  323;  and 
defects,  260,  263  ;  and  dementia  prsecox, 
320 ;  and  environment,  8  f ;  and  epilepsy, 
315;  family,  i  f,  238;  and  moral  status, 
II,  313;  and  neurasthenia,  318;  and 
physical  development,  263;  racial,  13  f; 
and  superior  intelligence,  329. 

Heytnans,  9,  12. 

High  school,  16,  25,  27,  40,  54,  68,  81, 
89,  104,  129,  138,  140,  147,  195,  239, 
268. 

Hillegas,  341. 

His,  34. 

Hoag,  279. 

Hodge,  257. 

Hogan,  344. 

HoUingwortk,  313. 

Holt,  344. 

Honor,  292,  294,  295, 

Hydrocephaly,  322,  323,  365. 

Hygienic  conditions,  264,  270;  habits,  204, 
276,  278,  283. 

Hyperopia,  121,  365. 

Hysteria,  316,  365. 

Idiots,  320,  326,  327. 

Illusions,  117,  303,  365. 

Imageless  thought,  153. 

Imagery,  chap.  IX;  auditory,  151;  chil- 
dren's V.  adults,  150  f;  in  early  years, 
154;  kinasthetic,  153;  and  mistakes, 
151;  number  of,  164;  and  percepts,  151, 
159  f;  productive,  156;  reproductive, 
154,  303;  and  secondary  connections, 
149;  types  of,  150;  verbal,  152;  visual, 
150;  vividness  of,  159. 

Imaginary  companions,  163. 

Imagination,  in  adolescence,  157;  con- 
structive, 145,  157,  158,  161,  165,  168, 
303,  364;  creative,  155,  156,  168,  282, 
303,  323,  364;  in  dementia  praecox,  319; 
and  dramatization,  164,  168,  282,  284; 
in  early  childhood,  154;  oi  eleven-year- 
olds,  293, 303 ;  and  fear,  162 ;  of  five-year- 
olds,  282,  286,  288;  and  hysteria,  316; 
and  lies,  160;  and  memory,  134,  i44. 
159;  in  middle  childhood,  157;  and 
neurasthenia,  318;  in  play,  222;  and 
reading,  157,  293;  and  symbolism,  166; 
and  sjmapathy,  62.         ^ 

Imbeciles,  320,  326,  327. 

Imitation,  70  f,  81,  175,  190,  217,  240,  248, 
285,  287. 


372 


Index 


Immorality,  227,  229,  230. 

Improvement,  196  f,  273.      See  Practice. 

Inaccuracy,  176  f,  144. 

Incentives,  86,  95,  109.  See  Reward,  Law 
of  effect. 

Individual  differences,  in  aesthetics,  86; 
causes  of,  5 ;  in  control  of  emotions,  89 ; 
in  fears,  286;  general,  13;  in  imagery, 
150;  in  information,  298;  in  memory 
type,  303 ;  in  moral  instruction,  243 ;  in 
originality,  73;  in  perception,  125;  in 
religious  awakening,  253 ;  in  sex  develop- 
ment, 77 ;  in  teeth,  291 ;  in  thinking,  171. 

Infants,  23,  26,  44,  46,  47,  49,  52,  55,  61, 
63,  66,  94,  112,  113,  118,  170,  188,  189, 
190,  208,  209,  211,  217,  264,  339. 

Inheritance,  basis  of,  21;  specific,  3  f; 
study  of,  20;  types  of,  2.    See  Heredity. 

Inhibition,  of  action,  284,  295 ;  of  instincts, 
30  f ;  of  thinking,  172. 

Insanity,  319,  321. 

-Instincts,  and  affective  states,  chap.  V; 
and  attention,  97  f ;  attributes  of,  23  f; 
at  eleven  years  old,  298  f ;  and  emotions, 
89  f ;  at  five  years  old,  286 ;  modification 
of,  29  f;  and  morals,  229;  non-social, 
chap.  Ill;  and  religion,  234;  resulting 
in  action,  chs.  Ill,  IV;  resulting  in 
mental  states,  chs.  VI,  VII,  VIII,  IX, 
X ;  social,  chap.  IV.  See  Original  nature. 
Heredity. 

Intelligence,  and  morality,  224;  quotient, 
(I.Q.)  326,  330,  365. 

Interest,  and  attention,  108  f ;  changes  in, 
248;  and  improvement,  199;  and  learn- 
ing, 143;  in  language,  252,  298,  304;  in 
novelty,  28. 

Introspection,  231,  236,  247,  251,  255,  311, 
336  f. 

Ireland,  321. 

James,  19,  27,  40,  41,  70,  94,  109,  113,  196, 

204,  205,  230. 
Johnson,  223,  344. 
Judgments,  14,  164,  177,  244. 

Kansas  test,  341. 

Kerschensteiner,  330. 

Kindergarten,  26,  30,  45,  46,  65,  70,  81, 

86,  104,  154,  166,  17s,   185,   221,   285, 

339. 
Kindliness,  60  f,  80,  81,  234,  302. 
King,  344. 


Kirkpatrick,  40,  48,  49,  54,  70,  94, 168,  247, 

281,  294,  309,  344. 
Kline,  52. 

Lalling,  323,  366. 

Lamarck,  7. 

Lancaster,  252,  344. 

Language,  development  of,  46  f;  foreign, 

136,  306  f;  interest  in,  218,  252,  303; 

scales,  342. 
Leadership,  226. 
Learning,  137,  138,  142. 
Lee,  223,  344. 
Leuba,  252. 
Lies,  160  f,  248,  282. 
Literature  on  childhood,  336,  343. 
Lohsien,  134,  135. 
Lukens,  344. 

MacCunn,  96. 

McDougall,  55,  64,  68,  71,  81,  go,  208. 

McGhee,  218. 

McKeever,  344,  346. 

Malnutrition,  274. 

Mangold,  344,  346. 

Manipulation,  40,  48,  98,  130,  170,  i88, 
217,  285,  287. 

Maternal  instinct,  59. 

Maturity,  103,  268. 

Mayo,  15. 

Measurements,  346  f . 

Median,  16, 351  f,  365. 

Median  deviation,  357,  365. 

Memorizing,  132,  138  f,  146,  193,  195,  249. 

Memory,  chap.  VIII;  and  attention,  144; 
desultory,  i36;l!t  eleven  years  old,  303, 
304 ;  at  five  years  old,  288 ;  and  imagina- 
tion, 144;  immediate,  131;  logical,  146; 
meaning  of,  131 ;  varieties  of,  134  f. 

Mendel,  3,  20. 

Mental  age,  325,  326,  330. 

Methods  of  child  study,  chap.  XVH. 

Meumann,  119,  120,  124,  126,  130,  132, 
134.  198. 

Meyer,  320. 

Microcephaly,  321,  322,  333,  366. 

Migratory  instinct,  28,  299. 

Miller,  186. 

Mind's  set,  116,  130,  139. 

Mode,  350,  366. 

Moll,  75,  78,  81,  270,  287,  344. 

Mongolians,  321,  322,  323,  366. 

Monroe,  120. 


Index 


373 


Monies  sort,  124,  285. 

Moral,  defectives,  311;  development  at 
eleven  years  old,  294;  development  at 
five  years  old,  282;  environment,  11; 
training,  224,  225,  226,  227,  229,  230, 
236!. 

Morality,  and  heredity,  11,  313;  and  in- 
stinct, 229;  and  religion,  234.  See  chap. 
XIII. 

Morons,  320,  326,  327. 

Motives,  31,  50,  S3,  68,  69,  70,  81,  85,  86, 
91,  95,  109,  140,  237,  241,  24s,  293, 
m. 

Mumford,  344. 

Muscular  habits,  45,  188,  190,  201,  204. 

Myers,  341, 

Myopia,  121,  366. 

National  Child  Labor  Committee,  345. 
National  Child  Welfare  League,  345. 
Neighborhood  observation,  222. 
Nervous  disorders,  315  f. 
Netschajef,  134,  135. 
Neurasthenia,  318. 

Neurones,  21,  22,  84,  97,  141,  281,  366. 
Norsworthy,  96,  205,  321,  344. 
Number,  288,  347. 
Nutrition,  264,  274  f,  279. 

Observation,  and  attention,  129;  develop- 
ment of,  126  f;  and  imagination,  157; 
lessons,  128 ;  methods,  338  f ;  and  reason- 
ing, 176;  training  in,  123,  125,  127. 

Observations,  directions  for  students :  ad- 
ministration of  tests,  334 ;  attention  and 
observation,  129;  defects  of  eyes  and 
ears,  129;  dramatic  imagination,  167; 
emotions,  96;  fighting  instinct,  50; 
habits  in  writing,  204;  instinctive  be- 
havior, 81 ;  local  institutions,  333 ; 
mistakes,  167;  neighborhood,  222; 
physical  conditions,  278;  play,  222. 

Odum,  16. 

Oppenheim,  96. 

Original  nature,  chap.  II;  and  activity, 
42;  and  approval,  66;  and  attention, 
97  f ;  characteristics  of,  23 ;  and  emotions, 
82,  91 ;  and  imagination,  149 ;  and 
memory,  131;  and  religion,  236;  and 
thinking,  169.  See  Heredity,  Instincts, 
Secondary  connections. 

O'Shea,  47,  58,  344- 

Ownership,  52,  60,  292. 


Paralysis,  322,  323,  326. 

Partridge,  346. 

Pearson,  2,  4,  9,  12,  312. 

Pease,  509. 

Perception,   chap.   VII;  development  of, 

112   f,    130;   and  imagery,    160,     161; 

training  of,  123. 
Periods  in  school,  104,  138,  139,  308. 
P  erring,  15. 
Physical  activity,  42,  46,  49,  55,  57,  65,  85, 

165,  215,  217,  218,  251,  256,  284  f. 
Physical    development,    chap.    XIV;    of 

eleven-year-olds,  290;   of  five-year-olds, 

280. 
Physiological  age,  268,  308. 
Pillsbury,  26,  89,  11 1. 
Pintner  and  Pater  son,  342. 
Plasticity,  24,  131,  187  f,  366. 
Plateau,  200,  201,  204,  366. 
Play,  chap.  XII;    changes  in,  with  age, 

28,  216,  217;  educational  value  of,  215, 

219;  at  eleven  years  old,  297;  at  five 

years  old,  284;  and  games,  211  f;  and 

instincts,    58;    introspection    of,    222; 

muscle  use  in,  45 ;  observation  of,  222  f; 

spirit,  2 IS,  223;  supervision  of,  220  f; 

and  teasing,  51;  theories  of,  206  f;  and 

work,  212. 
Pohlman,  134,  143. 
Porter,  2S9. 

Practice,  102,  104,  119,  193,  196  f. 
Practice  curve,  200  f,  367. 
Precocity,  328,  331. 
Preyer,  339,  344. 
Primacy,  law  of,  194,  195. 
Primitive  man,  18. 

Probable  error.     See  Median  deviation. 
Problem  giving,  173,  183^  22s,  251,  354, 

314,  319- 
Promotions,  333. 
Pufer,  6s,  81,  2S7- 
Punishment,  31,  55,  68,  77,  92,  95,  161,  174, 

191,  193,  233,  240,  246,  249,  282. 
Punnet,  3. 
Pyle,  IS,  334,  344. 

Quarreling,  248,  2S7- 
Questionnaire  method,  337  f,  345. 
Questions,  78,  12s,  I45,  I73  f,  183,  247,  252, 

2SS,  287. 
Questions  for  class  discussion,  20,  40,  58, 

81,  96,  III,  130,  147,  168,  186,  223,  230, 

236,  257,  308,  334. 


374 


Index 


Racial  dififerences,  13  f,  25,  223,  228. 
Range,  310,  347.    See  Attention. 
Readiness  of  neurones,  22,  83,  84,  97,  209, 

211. 
Reading,  295.    See  Stories. 
Reasoning,   chap.  X;  in  adolescence,   26, 

182;  of  aments,  323;  and  analysis,  179, 

180;  and  attention,  177;  in  childhood, 

248;  and  critical  attitude,   179;  in  early 

years,   170;  at  eleven   years  old,   304; 

examples  of,  184;  inaccuracy  of,  176  f; 

inhibition  of,   172  f;  and  organization, 

178;  training  in,  183,  186. 
Recall,  140,  141,  142,  143,  148. 
Recapitulation  theory,  32  f. 
Recency,  139,  191,  194. 
Reflexes,  22,  44. 
Regression,  6. 
Religion,  discussion  of,  297 ;  essentials  of, 

232  f;  ideals  in,  233;  and  instincts,  234; 

intellectual  features   of,  232;  and   mo- 
rality, 234.    See  chap.  XIII. 
Religious,  emotions,  232;  instruction,  244, 

249,  252,  257;  tendency,  230  f ;  training, 

235  i- 
Repetition,  134,  140  f,  147,  191,  193  f,  222, 

242,  284. 
Reports,  125,  144,  145,  160,  339. 
Resemblance,    measurement   of,    359;    to 

parents,  i  f ;  of  twins,  9. 
Responsibihty,  for  health,  260  f;  individual, 

249,  251,  254. 
Retardation,  15,  274,  278,  327. 
Retention,  131  f,  137,  288,  304,  367. 
Retroactive  inhibition,  129. 
Reward,  31,  32,  47,  60,  175,  192,  193,  194, 

204,  249,  282. 
Rhythm,  88,  120,  143,  147,  218,  222,  284, 

297,  304. 
Rickets,  275,  324,  367. 
Rivalry,  68  f,  81,  140,  208,  218,  252,  287, 

297i  302. 
Romanes,  34. 
Rose,  291. 

Rowe,  IS,  16,  205,  344. 
R^g,  362. 

Rusk,  121,  135,  148,  341,  344.  346. 
Russell  Sage  Foundation,  345. 

Sandiford,  118. 

Satisfiers,  82  f,  93,  94,  95,  97,   106,  113, 

149,  170,  194,  216,  234. 
Scales,  Binet,  325.342;   list  of,  341,  342; 


Pintner  and  Paterson,  342;  Yerkes, 
32s,  342. 

School  standards  for  eleven-year-olds, 
30s  f. 

Scoring,  347  f. 

Secondary  connections,  97,  98,  106,  131, 
149,  169,  234. 

Self  control,  57,  249,  295,  304,  316,  319. 

Sense,  defects,  121  f,  129,  315,  324;  dis- 
crimination, 119,  124,  289;  organs,  112  f, 
120;  perception,  246.     See  chap,  VII. 

Sex  antagonism,  294. 

Sex  differences,  in  chorea,  317;  in  color 
blindness,  13,  122;  at  eleven  years  old, 
290,  291,  297;  at  five  years  old,  281, 
290;  in  general,  11  f,  20;  in  height, 
265;  in  instincts  at  eleven,  299,  300, 
302;  in  lung  development,  269;  in 
maturing,  77,  251,  255,  268,  270;  in 
memory.  135;  in  motherly  behavior, 
59;  in  play,  285,  297;  in  religion,  248, 
251 ;  in  reporting,  126;  in  spitting,  276; 
in  weight,  265. 

Sex  instinct,  26,  37,  55,  74  f,  236,  270,  301, 
312,  326;  at  eleven  years  old,  301;  at 
five  years  old,  287. 

Sex  instruction,  77  f,  81,  250,  256,  301. 

Sheldon,  65. 

Shepardson,  44,  45. 

Shinn,  339,  344. 

Sisson,  339. 

Skill,  299.    See  Muscular  habits. 

Skin  sensitivity,  119. 

Slattery,  252,  257,  344. 

Slaughter,  52,  252,  344. 

Sleep,  262,  275,  281,  291. 

Smedley,  134,  143,  277. 

Smith,  15  s,  168. 

Social,  development,  281  f,  292  f;  good, 
227;  habits,  240  f;  instincts,  chap.  IV; 
intercourse,  319;    standards,  228. 

Sound,  119. 

Space,  118,  288,  304. 

Speech,  defects  of,  272;  development  of, 
46  f. 

Spencer,  206. 

Squint,  121,  367. 

Stages  of  child  life,  244  f,  256. 

Stanford  revision,  289,  305,  325,  342. 

Starbuck,  252,  344. 

Stern,  126,331,339. 

Stigmata,  322. 

Stimulation,  30. 


Index 


375 


Stone,  341. 

Stories,  36,  37,  89,  93,  158,  161,  162,  168, 

209,  242,  248,  250,  285,   293,  295,   296, 

298. 
Storm  and  stress,  253. 
Strabismus,  121. 
Strayer,  96,  205. 
Sublimation,  31  f,  57,  367.    u 
Subnormal  intelligence,  320  f. 
Substitution,  31,  40,  367. 
Suggestibility,  80,  125,  145,  323. 
Suggestion,  145,  240,  248,  283. 
Sully,  186,  344. 

Sunday  school,  166,  237,  238,  239,  242,  269. 
Sup>ernormal  intelligence,  328  f. 
Superstition,  248,  296. 
Swift,  65,  344. 
Symbolism,  166,  168,  250. 
Sympathy,  32^53,  61,  62,  81,^1. 
Systematizatioii  of   thougEt,   127,   178  f, 

184. 

Table  manners,  58,  204,  283,  296. 

Tables,  278. 

Talking,  37,  46  f. 

Tanner,  344. 

Taylor,  344. 

Teasing,  51,  58,  80,  248,  302. 

Teeth,  271,  275,  281,  291. 

Terman,  130,  262,  272,  273,  276,  279,  291, 

325.  330,  344- 
Tests,  Binet,  325;  for  eleven  years,  305; 

for  five  years,  289 ;  giving  of,  334,  342  f ; 

inteUigence,  324;  Yerkes,  325. 
Thompson,  12,  20. 
Thomson,  7,  20. 
Thorndike,  7,  9,  13,  17,  19,  20,  28  f,  35,  38, 

40,  42,  so,  54,  58,  67,  71,  81,  83,  84,  90, 

93.  96,  98,  119,  170,  191,  196,  197,  210, 

337,  341.  342,  344,  350,  362. 
Thought,   chap.   X;   amount   of,    171   f; 

inaccuracy  of,  176  f;  and  imagery,  153; 

results  of,  181 ;  training  of,  183. 
Thyroid,  266,  324.    See  Cretins. 
Tics,  317- 

Time  sense,  120,  282,  288,  303. 
Titchener,  159. 
Tonsils,  273. 
Trabue,  341,  342. 


Training,  of  aesthetic  pleasure,  89;  of 
attention,  no;  of  exceptional  children, 
314,  316,  317,  319,  326,  330;  of  imagery, 
152  f,  157;  of  instincts,  29  f,  49,  53,  56, 
61,  70,  73,  77,  86;  moral,  236  f ;  in  obser- 
vation, 123,  127;  religious,  235  f;  in 
thinking,  183  f.  See  Habit,  Incentives, 
Motives. 

Transitoriness  of  instincts,  27  f,  32  f,  40. 

Transfer  of  training,  128,  147,  243. 

Travis,  344. 

Tredgold,  313,  321,  323,  334. 

Trial  and  success,  48,  201,  368. 

Tuberculosis,  275,  331. 

Twins,  5,  9. 

Tyler,  263,  279,  309,  344. 

Units  in  scoring,  349. 
UtiUty  theory,  38. 

Variability,  in  growth,  267;  measurement 
oi,  355  f;  in  moral  standards,  228;  of 
responses,  25 ;  of  sexes,  13. 

Variation,  law  of,  5,  6. 

Visual  defects,  121,  129. 

Vocabulary,  48,  289,  305,  339,  342. 

Vocalization,  40,  46  f,  188,  217. 

Walking,  7,  42,  322. 

Warner,  259. 

Weight,  259,  265,  280,  290. 

Weismann,  7. 

Wessely,  136. 

Whipple,  100,  118,  130,  136,  144,  148,  339, 

344,  346. 
Wiersma,  9,  12,  13. 
Wile,  257. 
Winch,  344. 
Wood  Allen,  344. 
Woods,  10,  II,  20,  312. 
Woods  Hutchinson,  344. 
Woodworth,  14. 
Woody,  341. 
Work.    See  Play. 
Writing,  143,  204,  278,  342. 

Yerkes,  325,  342. 

Ziehen,  119- 


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